BadgeQuest: The Movie!
by Cyberwraith9
Summary: The blockbuster hit of the season comin' at you Spring '04!  In times of great peril, a dark secret from the ancient past is unlocked, and only one thing is certain; the world of BadgeQuest will never be the same.
1. Theatrical Trailer

THE FOLLOWING PREVIEW HAS BEEN APPROVED FOR ALL VIEWERS, EXCEPT THOSE WITH EXTREME VISION LOSS, BY NET GHOST PRODUCTIONS, LTD.  
  
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DEEP WITHIN THE HEART OF KANTO…  
  
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"Boring," Ash yawned.  
  
  
  
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THERE LIES A DUNGEON.  
  
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Ash snapped forward, almost toppling from his chair as he crashed into the table with excitement. "Now you're talking!" he exclaimed.  
  
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ITS LOCATION HAS BEEN UNCOVERED…  
  
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Solo spread the map across the table, leaning back so his youthful cohorts could move in closer to see. He slammed his finger down near the edge of the Moon Mountain range, just outside of Cerulean City. "Giovanni has learned the location of the Dungeon," he said solemnly.  
  
Brock frowned, scratching his brow. "Is that bad?"  
  
Though his face was featureless, Solo's blank expression nevertheless conveyed extreme worry. "You'd better believe it."  
  
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ITS TREASURES ARE UNBELIEVABLE…  
  
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The team stood at the top of the precipice, looking down the mountain to the path below. Not five minutes behind them marched an army, two men wide and fifty men long. They filled the narrow trail, stomping along with military precision, and wore dark, ominous uniforms. Emblazoned on each of their chests was an enormous, blood-red 'R'.  
  
"Oh my God…" Misty's hand flew to her mouth to stifle her cry of terror as she watched the largest concentration of Team Rocket troops she had ever seen follow their footsteps through the mountains. There was only one reason they could possibly be there.  
  
Solo's masked mouth drew taught. "So now it's war…"  
  
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ITS PURPOSE IS…  
  
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Ash stood next to the tall mercenary, and tugged the bill of his battered League cap down over his eyes.  
  
"Good." he uttered, glaring down at the Rockets with contempt.  
  
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UNKNOWN  
  
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Solo folded his arms, glaring at the group of young people in front of him. They had gathered in Oak's lab, each knowing the task at hand, and each knowing the price of failure. He saw in their faces the same sort of drive he had felt at their age, and it scared him, for he knew what lay ahead of them. But did they know?  
  
"If Giovanni's allowed to enter the Unknown Dungeon," he told them, "It could mean the end of the world." Flint stood at his elbow, and nodded in agreement with his old friend.  
  
For several moments, there was no sound. It was Ash who broke the silence. "So…That's bad." he stated slowly.  
  
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THIS SPRING…  
  
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Gary exchanged glances with their new ally, and then looked down again. He gripped the edge of the hatch, dearly hoping that the pilot of their plane didn't decide to suddenly bank and toss them out prematurely. Below them, the world sprawled out like an enormous carpet and was dotted with white, cottony clouds.  
  
"This is nuts," he muttered, pulling a pair of flight goggles over his eyes and checking his harness once again.  
  
"True," his jumping buddy agreed. "But who wants t'live forevah?" Before Gary could respond, he was violently shoved out of the plane, followed quickly by a "Geronimo!"  
  
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GET READY FOR NEW ADVENTURES…  
  
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Misty looked down into her Pokégear, eyeballing the device incredulity. "What did you say?"  
  
"It's an impossible mission," Ash's voice filtered through the device. Several people in the gym gave her funny looks as she talked into her wrist, but she ignored them. "Danger, death, and the potential for a world-ending apocalyptic explosion…or something."  
  
A slow smile spread across Misty's features. "You always did know how to show a girl a good time, Ash." she teased him.  
  
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NEW ALLIES…  
  
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"Name's Trenton," the dark-skinned boy extended his hand around the flames. In the blackness of the wilderness night, Misty could have sworn that the gleam in his eye wasn't just from their campfire. "An' you must be Misty."  
  
"Nice to meet you," she greeted him. "How'd you know?"  
  
"Oh, Ash won't shut up about you," Trenton leered at her with pearly teeth. "Though I must say," he added, slicking back his cropped, woolen hair, "He didn't do you justice."  
  
She blushed at the attention. "Why thank you."  
  
"The way he described you, I never imagined you would have such big-"  
  
"TRENTON!" Ash shot from outside the fire circle as he helped Brock prepare their dinner.  
  
"What?" Trenton looked back to Ash with honest confusion, completely missing Misty's growing rage. "I thought I was complimentin' 'er!"  
  
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AND DISCOVER THE TRUE POWER…  
  
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"This is your last chance, old friend." Giovanni warned him, training a gun at his chest. "Tell me where the relic is."  
  
The dark-haired warrior glared scornfully at his former partner. He drew himself up, puffing out his chest and squaring his shoulders. "Never," he growled, and spat at Giovanni's boots.  
  
Giovanni shrugged and sighed. "Very well." he said, and pulled the trigger.  
  
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OF THE HEART…  
  
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The world fell down around their ears, raining boulders that could easily crush them in an instant…and Misty didn't care. She grasped at the hand of the man she loved, tugging him back to her before he could run back into certain death. "Ash, wait!"  
  
Ash jerked back at her powerful pull. His momentum carried him right into her, and they crashed together, falling to the ground in each other's arms. He looked into her large, luminous eyes, and stared right into her soul. And without a single doubt left in his mind, he knew what he had to do. Reaching up, he cradled her face in his hands, gently stroking the hair from her cheek as millions of tons of earth rumbled around them.  
  
"I love you," he murmured.  
  
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ASH  
  
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"Ash…" Misty murmured, staring uncomfortably at the man she had loved, the man she hadn't seen in close to two years.   
  
He rose above the crests of the hills surrounding Pallet, looking so different than she remembered. And yet, there was much the same about him; his long, tangled hair beneath that ancient hat; his broad, athletic shoulders contained inside his blue League jacket; the dark Z's that framed his eyes, just above that roguish smile that always drove her insane.  
  
  
  
It was so good to see him again.  
  
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MISTY  
  
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Ash reached the top of the hill, catching sight of a shimmering column of glorious red that wafted in the gentle breeze. He watched her rose-petal lips curl in a smile, and felt his own doing the same. She looked so different, and yet she was still the Misty he remembered; that curvy frame beneath a yellow tank top; those long, slender legs that cocked her hips at a jaunty angle; those blue eyes that pierced his very spirit with no effort at all.  
  
"Misty," he whispered.  
  
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BROCK  
  
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Brock looked between the two, smirking as they made goo-goo eyes at each other. It was always the same thing; whenever they were on the same wavelength, the world just seemed to disappear.  
  
"Brock," he said in a hush, not wanting to be left out.  
  
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AND THE REST…  
  
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"Pika!" Pikachu huffed indignantly.  
  
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IN THE GREATEST ADVENTURE OF THEIR LIVES  
  
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"I'm perfectly willing to let you all walk away," Giovanni informed his adversaries graciously.  
  
Ash gritted his teeth, clutching a pair of Pokéballs in his hands. Standing before him was Giovanni, and behind him, an army of Team Rocket thugs. Each of the Rocket goons wielded their own Pokémon, and were slowly advancing on the small crew of heroes. Behind Ash, the mouth of the Unknown Dungeon hung in a haze of fresh dust and grit kicked up from the explosives that had uncovered it.  
  
He thumbed the activation triggers, feeling each ball click against his calloused skin. His eyes narrowed, and his lips pulled back in an insane smile. Pikachu sparked and snarled at his feet, and to either side, he knew his friends were girding themselves for battle as well. For all they knew, they were all that stood between Team Rocket and total global domination.  
  
"Let's do this," he said, and tossed the Pokéballs into the fray.  
  
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BADGEQUEST: THE MOVIE  
  
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"This is the weirdest shit I've ever heard!" Trenton groused, swiping at the map on the table with a look of disbelief.  
  
Brock eyeballed the newcomer. "Really? We deal with this kind of stuff all the time."  
  
"Yeah," Ash agreed.  
  
"Pretty routine." Misty sighed.  
  
Trenton looked at each of them, then shook his head. "You're all bloody nuts."  
  
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COMING THIS SPRING TO A FANFICTION SITE NEAR YOU  
  
Pokémon is a registered trademark of Nintendo Entertainment LTD. and 4 Kids Entertainment. All characters and locations are copyrighted and used without permission or profit. BadgeQuest is copyrighted to Cyberwraith9 and Net Ghost Productions, LTD. Use of characters or ideas without express consent is strictly prohibited, and will probably result in a pair of burly goons coming to your home and beating the holy snot out of you.  
  
THIS FILM IS RATED PG-13   
  
FOR VIOLENCE, ADULT THEMES AND SITUATIONS, MILD LANGUAGE, MILD SEXUAL CONTENT AND USE OF THE WORD "HONKY".   
  
PARENTAL SUPERVISION IS SUGGESTED, BUT WILL PROBABLY BE IGNORED SINCE MOST PARENTS VIEW THE COMPUTER AS A SECOND BABYSITTER, RIGHT BEHIND TELEVISION.   
  
BY READING THIS, YOU ABSOLVE YOUR RIGHT TO TAKE LEGAL ACTION AGAINST CYBERWRAITH NINE FOR ANY DISSATISFACTION YOU MAY HAVE IN EXPOSING YOUR CHILDREN TO THIS.   
  
IN FACT, YOU CAN'T EVEN COMPLAIN, BUT I FIGURE YOU WILL ANYWAY.   
  
SO CUT IT OUT. 


	2. The Obligatory Short

[_Net Ghost Productions, LTD 2004 Presents…_]  
  
It was a gloriously sunny day in the hills of Scotland. The long green grass waved gently in the wind, kissed by an invisible force that kept the land cool in the bright sunlight. Out among the rolling expanse, there was but a single, simple dirt path to mar the otherwise pristine ocean of emerald foliage. Small clusters of trees lined the path at no particular interval, providing the occasional shade for a weary traveler, and a home for the Pidgey that flew overhead. Their song played on a pair of familiar travelers down the lane, whistling and trilling in time with their steps.  
  
[_A Short by Cyberwraith T. Nine…_]  
  
Ash's legs led the way along the path, practically dancing to the merry tune nature sang just for him. Down by his feet, his longtime partner and traveling companion skipped to the beat as well, wearing a tiny smile on his small, rounded muzzle. "C'mon, Pikachu!" Ash's legs cried merrily, picking up the pace, "We're almost there!"  
  
"Pika!" Pikachu scampered as Ash's legs broke into a run.   
  
Though little, the mouse had no trouble at all keeping up with his trainer. The two of them ran down the path together, panting and laughing as the Pidgey swooped down, joining in their race with a happy tweet and a salute of wings. Off in the distance, a large sign began to appear over the crest of the next hill, growing closer with every joyous step. Beyond the sign, a large expanse of trees and greenery stood like an oasis in the grass, towering above everything else on the plains, offering a respite to weary trainers and their Pokémon.  
  
"Let's get everyone else out here for this!" Ash's hands snapped quickly to his belt, tossing the Pokéballs attached as fast as he could trigger their release catches. One by one, Ash's team flared back into existence with dazzling flashes of light: Charizard, Ivysaur, Wartortle, and Pidgeot all reverted back into matter, immediately running or flying alongside their trainer excitedly.  
  
"Pika!" Pikachu laughed happily, cheering his companions on as they ran towards the trees. As they drew closer, the enormous crescent sign hanging above the entrance to the park became legible:  
  
Pokémon Rest Station: A Pokémon Getaway  
  
"It isn't far now, guys!" Ash's legs insisted, pumping against the coarse dirt path. "Just a little further, and we can finally take the whole day off!"  
  
"Pi!"  
  
=============================**PIKACHU'S UNLUKCY DAY**=============================   
  
[_Obnoxious Pop Theme Song_]  
  
Inside of the great gates, the rest station was even more beautiful than it had appeared from afar. Tall, imported oaks stood in thick groves, surrounded by babbling brooks and streams. Large, sandy patches were the perfect spot for a sunny nap, and a collection of climbing rigs hanging from the trees offered you a closer look at the shade, if you wanted it.  
  
And everywhere you looked, there were Pokémon!  
  
Water types splashed and swam in the pools and streams, while Rock and Ground types rolled about in the sand and mud. Those with wings roosted high above in the treetops. And as for everyone else, well, they did as they pleased. Some were playing on a set of tire swings and jungle gyms set off to one side, while others simply lay in the grass, napping and enjoying the lazy afternoon.  
  
Ash's legs watched with satisfaction as his best team walked forward. They had just exited the lodge, having paid the fee for a day's rest at the Station, and he just wanted to make sure his team was getting settled in. Each of them was gazing about in wonder at the fabulous expanse offered to them.   
  
"You guys have worked really hard lately," Ash's legs told them, "You've earned this. Go on and have some fun, I'll be in the lodge if you need me." With that, his arm gave them one last wave before his feet pivoted, carrying him back towards the building offered to trainers. It was his day off, too, after all.  
  
Pikachu watched his trainer disappear into the lodge, then turned back to their enormous playground. His friends were already walking out into the first pasture, exploring with a slow, easygoing plod. "Guys!" he cried, "Wait up!"  
  
"Will you look at this?" Charizard rumbled appreciatively, pivoting his angular head high on his long neck. "It's about time we got some nice digs."  
  
"Plenty of grass, easy access to water, lots of shade and sun…" Ivysaur looked about, nodding in agreement. "I hate to say it, but barbecue-breath is right. This place 'is' pretty sweet."  
  
Wartortle was about to speak his own agreement when something at one of the pools caught his attention. "Speaking of sweet…" he murmured, catching sight of a pretty young Wartortle slipping in and out of the crystal blue water. Reaching in to his shell, he pulled out his sunglasses and popped them over his face as he gave his comrades a grin. "Catch you guys later!" he called before rushing off…well, rushing as fast as a turtle can, at any rate.  
  
Pidgeot was already airborne, heading for the sky. "No more battles! Wa-hoo!" His powerful wings carried him high into the trees. He was out of sight in the blink of an eye, already picking out his perch for an afternoon nap.  
  
Pikachu looked about frantically as his friends all picked separate directions. The little mouse jumped up and down, crying out pitifully. "Guys, where are you going?! It's our day off!" His ears flattened in depression as even Charizard and Ivysaur began walking off, ignoring his protests. "Let's play…"  
  
"Play?" Charizard turned back, going down on all fours with a puff of sulfur and smoke from his nostrils. "We've been all over Europe collecting those dumb plastic pins."  
  
"'Zard's got a point, buddy." Ivysaur nodded. "We've been battling so hard, even my 'leaves' are starting to get blisters. I'm bushed."  
  
"Bushed?" the perpetually-energetic generator squawked, waving his little paws frantically. "Look at this place! Let's go explore, or find someone to play with! I'm not gonna lay around all day!"  
  
"Okay, fine. Shut up." Charizard growled, rubbing his snout in irritation. "Let's go play 'Under the Bus'."  
  
"Cool!" Pikachu jumped up and down. Then he stopped, scratching his head in confusion. "Wait…how do you play that game?"  
  
"You go find a bus, and lie under it." Charizard chuckled gruffly, turning back around and stalking off on all four claws. "I'm gonna go take a nap."  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"Sorry 'Chu." Ivysaur said with a wide yawn. He plodded off, waving a vine behind him as he left his friend in the dust. "See ya later."  
  
"Well…well fine!" Pikachu pouted, folding his claws dejectedly as the last of his friends wandered off. "I'll go find someone else to play with! You lazy bums!" His ears flattened at the sight of Ivysaur's retreating hindquarters. Why would anyone want to waste such a gorgeous day laying around, anyway? It didn't matter; he would find new friends to play with. Better friends! There had to be some kind of excitement to be found here.  
  
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Pikachu padded into an open, empty glen with a weary sigh. He had searched all morning through the various sectors of the Rest Station, looking for new friends to play with and new adventures to share. His travels had brought him to the salty beaches of the mini-ocean in the center of the Station, and across the rocky hills of the Mountain Zone (though the low, rumbling growls echoing from the Onix caves had chased him off), and now he was wandering through one of the many clearings.  
  
And he had found nothing. No one. Nada. Zero. Zip. Bupkiss. Nobody wanted to play with poor Pikachu. He had been laughed at, teased, shunned, and even shooed away with streams of water and fire and other, more painful elements that still stung his pride as much as his behind. "What a stinky, boring place. This sucks." he huffed, parking his rear down on a large tree root. His pointy ears and jagged tail were drooping with disappointment. "Is it too much to ask for a friend?"  
  
A soft, snuffling sound stared up from the tall grass at the edge of the glen, answering his rhetorical question. Pikachu's ears perked up as he turned to the rustling foliage at the edge of the small pasture. He hopped off of his perch and scampered over to the grass. Pushing aside the long, ill-kempt blades, he peered in.  
  
"Oh woe…" A tiny pair of mushrooms rose and fell in time with the sobbing of a meek, morose Paras hidden within the greenery. His mandibles clacked, dampened with tears from his large, bluish eyes. "Oh pity… Oh cruel fate, twisting me in the wind like a tube sock caught in a tree branch!"  
  
"Uh…Hi!" Pikachu said, pushing into the Paras' tiny hiding place.   
  
He clearly startled the other Pokémon, for his discovery nearly leapt out of his exoskeleton at the thundermouse's friendly overture. The Paras covered his head with his large, pointy claws, screaming, "Don't hurt me, I'll go away! I promise!"  
  
"Huh?" Pikachu's head tilted at the sight of the panicked Paras. "Did you eat some bad plants, or something?"  
  
Slowly, the Paras lowered his fore-claws, peering at Pikachu with a single, narrowed eye. "You…You aren't gonna hurt me?" his voice trembled.  
  
"No way!" Pikachu waddled forward, pulling the Paras' claws fully away from his face. He shook the appendages gladly, grinning as broadly as he could. "I've been looking everywhere for a friend to play with. You wanna play with me?"  
  
"You…You actually 'want' me to be your friend?" the Paras asked in amazement.   
  
"You bet!" Pikachu jumped up and down. This Paras was a sickly example of the species, even for Paras. Still, Pikachu didn't want to waste any more of the day, and besides that, this Pokémon sure looked like he could use a friend. "I'm Pikachu! What's your name?"  
  
"I'm…Pierre." the Paras said cautiously, waiting for the other shoe to drop. "And I don't know if you wanna be my friend, Pikachu."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because…" He began fidgeting uncomfortably, rubbing the ends of his claws together as he looked away. "Whenever people are around me, well…bad things happen."  
  
"P'shaw!" Pikachu proudly proclaimed, puffing out his pathetic chest.  
  
Pierre shook his head. "No, really," he insisted. "My last group of friends buried me so I couldn't follow them. M-My trainer left me here and rolled on out as fast as his new wheelchair could carry him!"  
  
The sad (and slightly ominous) story struck a chord with Pikachu. He patted Pierre's back between his two tiny mushrooms. "I would never do that, Pierre. Why, I bet once I introduce you to 'my' trainer, he'd be thrilled to have you on-board!"  
  
The thought brightened Pierre's features like a halogen lamp. "Really?"  
  
Nodding excitedly, Pikachu assured him, "You bet! He's a real maniac when it comes to us Pokémon. He'd train his own mother if he could!" Pikachu began tugging on Pierre's claw, trying to get him out of the grass. "But there'll be plenty of time for that later. Let's go play!"  
  
"Well…okay!" Pierre agreed at last with a tiny, buggy smile. His spindly legs lifted him from the ground and carried him out of the grass. Pikachu bounded after him, hot on the insect's heels…feelers…whatever. At last, someone to play with! Things were really going Pikachu's way!  
  
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Jessie clapped her hands together, staring down at the heavily modified forest floor in front of her. "Things are finally going our way, boys!" she squealed.  
  
"Goody…goody…" James grunted, heaving back on an incredibly taught rope. To his left, Meowth had a similar rope situated parallel to his, and was tugging with all his feline might. Their lines were tethered to an insulated net, which was cleverly concealed with loose leaves and stalks of grass that Jessie had so generously gathered for them while they bent down a pair of thick saplings. Currently, the baby trees were being held down by a series of tent stakes and wiring. They had spent the last eight minutes trying to get their ropes far enough from the path to actually loop onto the saplings.  
  
"Dis…ain't…in my…contract!" Meowth huffed, feeling a disc in his spine threaten to rupture. "I specifically…ask…for two sidekicks…so dat you two…could do…all da heavy liftin'!" He at last succeeded in hooking his line on a small branch on the top of his bent tree. The line quivered, but held.  
  
A few seconds later, James also managed to secure his rope. "I don't see what all this fuss is for, Jess…" He scratched his head, examining the elaborate trap. "I mean, can't we just dig a hole, or something?"  
  
"Oh please," she snorted, waving her partner's whining off. "That is 'soooo' original series."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"In any case, this is perfect!" she continued. Gesturing to their hidden net, she held up a thin piece of fishing line, which was cleverly connected to the tent stakes. With a single tug, the Rocket beauty could send their saplings flying, springing the trap and coiling the net together in a tangling mess of electric-proof containment. "Pikachu's all by himself, which means this is the perfect opportunity to catch him!"  
  
"I dunno," Meowth scratched his jaw with his trio of claws. "We've tried hundreds of plans before, an' a lot of 'em were way cleverer dan dis."  
  
"But that's the true genius of this plan, Meowth!" Jessie insisted with a smirk. "It's so simple, it's brilliant!"  
  
"I don't care if it wins us the Nobel Prize," James moaned, sagging his simpering shoulders. "I just wanna get back in the boss' good graces, so maybe he'll let us come home. All this foreign food is upsetting my stomach."  
  
"Yeah," Meowth agreed, "I'd give anything for a rice ball right about now."  
  
"Oh, pack your useless gullets later, morons!" Jessie grabbed them each by the ear, yanking them off of the shaded path and over to some thick underbrush. They followed, yelping in pain until they were properly masked behind the array of leaves and branches. Jessie grasped the line tightly, smirking at their invisible trap. "Now we just wait for Pikachu to toddle on over, and it's 'Hello, Winner's Circle' for us!"  
  
"Yeah!" her companions cheered.  
  
They sat together in silence for a moment, listening to the gentle sounds of the forest. Not a soul was around to disturb their blissful peace. Diligently, the trio never took their eyes off the poorly-maintained path.  
  
"Jess?" James said at last.  
  
"Yes, James?"  
  
He looked over with a puzzled expression, wincing in pain as a thought suddenly began rattling around his empty skull. "What makes you so sure Pikachu's going to walk past 'here', anyway?"  
  
She blinked. "Huh?"  
  
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"Maybe hide-and-seek wasn't the best game to play…" Pierre moaned, pulling a bramble out of his backside.  
  
Pikachu shot his new friend a glare as if to say 'no kidding' as he did the same. The game had started off innocently enough; Pikachu had scampered as the Paras counted, searching for the perfect hiding spot. The tree above the bramble patch seemed like a good idea. Pikachu had just hopped from branch to branch, reaching the desired tree without incident. It had taken Pierre the better part of twenty minutes to find him hidden in the high-altitude foliage.  
  
Unfortunately for the pair, the branch Pikachu had chosen must have been rotting, or perhaps just wasn't strong enough to hold the both of them. As soon as Pierre had stepped onto the outcropping of wood, it snapped like…well, like a twig, and BOOM! Down they went, right into a thicket of brambles.  
  
"Sorry about that," Pierre moaned, working the last of the thorns out of his mushrooms. "I guess you'll want to get as far away from me as possible. I can help; just tell me which direction you want to go in, and I'll start walking in the-"  
  
"Now hold on!" Pikachu snapped, a little irritated by Pierre's defeatist attitude. "What happened wasn't your fault! It could've happened to anyone. Let's just find a different game to play, okay?"  
  
"Really? You mean it?" Pierre seemed overjoyed. "Well, okay!" Then he paused, scratching his carapace with a foreclaw. "So…what do we do now?"  
  
Pikachu thought a moment, then decided on something rather safe; the path wound ahead of them, clear of any sharp bushes or trees. "Why don't we have a race?" suggested the mouse.  
  
"Um…" Pierre examined his spindly legs. "I guess I could do that."  
  
The two Pokémon hunkered down, with Pikachu waggling his hindquarters in the air excitedly. "On your mark…" he muttered, setting his tiny face in determination. "Get set…and GO!"  
  
The two took off in a sprint. Pikachu pulled slightly ahead, though he was holding back his natural speed and agility so he didn't leave the Paras totally behind. Pierre huffed and puffed behind him, scooting along as fast as his crablike legs could carry him. "I'll…get you!" he panted.  
  
"In your dreams, shitake-butt!" laughed Pikachu. He rounded the bend-  
  
-and tripped over a carefully-laid set of rigging hovering just over the ground. Stumbling, the agile mouse tumbled end over end and landed in the middle of a blanket of leaves and branches and skidded to a halt. He lay there for a moment, staring up at the forest canopy as a plethora of aches and pains worked their way into his little mousy skeleton.  
  
"Pikachu!" Pierre called, scuttling around the corner. "Are you-"  
  
"Now, James!" a familiar voice cried. Without warning, a sharp crack echoed in quadruplicate all around Pikachu. In slow motion, he saw the riggings around him begin to rise off of the ground as a quartet of young saplings sprang up from the forest floor.  
  
Startled by the sudden movement, Pierre tripped over his own legs (there were an abundance to manage, after all) and fell forward. His scissor-like claws caught and sliced two of the ropes to one side of the path. Free of the lines, the saplings rose unhindered, quivering once again in their rightful place…  
  
…and leaving the other two to drag the snagged Pikachu in the air. Without the other saplings to counterbalance the rig, the net became a crude catapult that happily tossed Pikachu far into the woods.  
  
Wind and leaves rushed past the screaming mouse as he hurtled uncontrollably through the air. His tiny lungs burned and his lips were pulled back with g-force, until mercifully, he slammed headfirst into a large oak tree. His skull sunk into the comparatively soft bark, sticking for a second as the rest of his body caught up with a bone-jarring thud. Then he slid down the tree trunk, landing a few feet later on a fat branch.  
  
Groaning, Pikachu spat out a pair of acorns, which he had apparently picked up at some point during his flight. He clutched at his head, checking to make sure his ears hadn't been torn off by a stray branch. "Ooohhh…" he moaned, relieved that nothing was missing, yet hardly able to think for all the pain. "I don't think this day could get any worse…"  
  
"Bzzzzzzz…"  
  
Pikachu froze at the noise. Slowly, ever so slowly, the mouse looked to his left. Not six inches from his person was a large yellow shape clinging to the tree, curled up and snoozing peacefully…at least, it had been before Pikachu's crash. The saffron shape stirred softly, as if its sleep had become fitful suddenly. Looking past the shape, Pikachu spotted at least ten others, and looking to his right, many, many more.  
  
"B-B-Beedrill," Pikachu stammered softly, then covered his own mouth as he watched the sleeping Pokémon stir further. Gently, gently, he backed away from the Beedrill and began climbing carefully (carefully!) down the trunk.  
  
He had reached the halfway point when a familiar and oh-so-unwelcome voice began calling through the forest. "Pikachu! Pikachu! Pikachu, where are you?"  
  
A foul curse hissed past Pikachu's fangs as he closed his eyes and prayed that the Beedrill didn't wake up. "Pierre," he muttered.  
  
"Pika-chu!" Pierre finally wandered near the tree, cupping his foreclaws to his face as he called out as loudly as he could. At last, the Pokémon spotted his friend's form clinging to the trunk of the large oak tree. He toddled over to the tree, waving at his friend. "Hey! Are you all right?"  
  
"Shhhh!" Pikachu shushed the obnoxious Paras with one claw, clinging desperately to the bark with his other. "Quiet…"  
  
"Didn't catch that!" Pierre called back. "A diet? I'm not that big…"  
  
"Stop talking…" Pikachu whispered as loudly as he dared. The Beedrill around him still hadn't settled down; in point of fact, their restlessness was worsening.   
  
"How'm I supposed to help you if I stop walking?" Pierre shouted in confusion.  
  
"SHUT UP!" Pikachu bellowed. Then he clapped a claw over his craw, feeling his heart sink. He and Pierre stared up into the tree as dozens upon dozens of soulless red eyes winked into existence among the foliage, zeroing in on the noisy pair. "Oh, crap…"  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"I think they came this way, Jess…" James pushed through the underbrush, following the odd tracks of the Paras that had been with Pikachu before they had inadvertently launched him into the forest.  
  
"Dey better be," Meowth grumbled, getting slapped in his big round face by a branch James had pushed out of the way. "I'm gettin' sick of dis nature stuff. I'm a city cat at heart."  
  
"Do you even have a heart?" Jessie snorted, likewise bushwhacking her way behind her cohorts as they followed the tiny trail.  
  
"Dat's the ting dey give you on Valentine's Day, right?"  
  
James held up his hand, tilting his head. The gentle breeze brushed at his blue hair as he listened intently to its silent advice. "Do you guys hear that?"  
  
Meowth's sharp ears picked it up as well. "It sounds like screaming and running and a…blender?" he frowned in confusion at the last noise, a constant buzzing that confounded his senses.  
  
Without warning, a pair of Pokémon exploded from the underbrush, yowling in terror as the sprinted for all they were worth. James and Meowth leapt out of the way, but Jessie's quick reflexes activated her right arm (the snatching arm); the appendage shot out, grasping Pikachu by the tail and hauling the rodent off of his feet.  
  
"Well, well, well," she sneered, holding the struggling mouse upside down like a caught fish. "Look what I have."  
  
"Pi! Pika, pikachu pi pika pika piiii!" Pikachu howled, squirming as he tried to break the prima donna's grip.  
  
James snickered, poking their catch. "What d'you suppose he's saying?"  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"-stupid, idiotic genetic accidents!" Pikachu snarled, dangling uselessly from Jessie's grip. "I should fry your useless, goddess-damned brains right out of your empty fu-"  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"-ka pikachu!"  
  
"Probably calling for help," Jessie snickered, ignoring Meowth's quirked eyebrow.  
  
There was no more time to wonder what Pikachu's filthy mouth was spewing, as the loud buzzing Meowth had detected earlier was now large enough to drown out even the furious mouse's raving. The four turned (or in Pikachu's case, listed) back in the direction of the two Pokémon's escape. It was as if a fleet of electric pencil sharpeners was at work, attempting to whittle down the forest, or some other equally-nonsensical task.  
  
A darting yellow shape caught Jessie's attention. Even as her brain rapidly identified the item, another thirteen emerged from the forest canopy, streaking straight towards them. "That's no blender, Meowth…" she uttered in horror.  
  
James was just as quick in recognizing the impending danger. "That's…"  
  
"BEEDRILL!" Meowth shrieked, pointing a claw at the wave of insect Pokémon angrily charging their way.  
  
"PIKA!"  
  
Jessie dropped their quarry as the Rocket trio took flight in the direction of the cowardly Paras. Pikachu was hot on their heels, just barely outrunning the front wave of Beedrill that nipped at their collective heels. Their feet pounded on the forest floor.  
  
With no time to lose, Pikachu powered up his Agility ability, focusing his internal electricity on heightening his body's muscles for incredible speed and acrobatic prowess. He wasn't sure exactly how it worked, and truthfully, he didn't care; the only thing that mattered was that it propelled him like a missile straight over Team Rocket's heads and into the branches above. The nimble mouse leapt from branch to branch, distancing himself from the deadly wave of living stingers.  
  
"Halp!"  
  
The pitiful cry caught Pikachu's attention. He looked down, spying a mottled red shape scuttling on the forest floor far below. The Beedrill were already gaining ground on Pierre; it would only be a moment before they caught and, most likely, killed the pathetic Pokémon.  
  
"Why me?" Pikachu moaned as he leapt into the air, dropping down from the relative safety of the treetops to land and run next to Pierre.  
  
"Pikachu!" the Paras sang happily. "Oh, I'm so glad! I was afraid I would be ripped to shreds all by myself."  
  
"No one's ripping anything!" Pikachu told him matter-of-factly.  
  
A trio of terrified shrieks erupted behind them as the sound of a dozen stingers tearing into flesh and cloth echoed through the forest. Pikachu couldn't help but cringe at the thought of the Rockets suffering the terrible stings of the Bug types, though, knowing their luck, they'd probably survive the encounter. But the thundermouse had bigger fish to fry; though part of the pack had stopped to tear Team Rocket a new one, there was still an ominous wall of buzzing close by, chasing them and gaining quickly.  
  
"...okay," Pikachu amended in mid-flight, "Nobody 'else' is getting ripped apart."  
  
The pair spotted a clearing not to far from here. Unfortunately, it was well-guarded by a circle of bramble bushes that appeared extra sharp. "Can you jump over that?" Pikachu asked.  
  
Pierre glanced back at his own feeble legs, then over at his friend incredulously. "You're kidding, right?"  
  
It was a moot point, as the argument carried the two right into the bushes at top speed. They shrieked and shouted, feeling the razor sharp bushes tear into them, but the buzzing was ever-closing in, so they pushed on. By the time they came out the other side and into the clearing, Pikachu was a mess of prickles and cuts. Pierre, on the other hand, had only a few scratches on his mushrooms; his exoskeleton had seen him through the worst of it just fine.  
  
Ignoring the stabbing pain all over his body, Pikachu quickly surveyed their surroundings. The ground beneath them was sandy and littered with pebbles, and further ahead was a rock face that looked vaguely familiar. Scanning as fast as his little mousy eyes would allow, he at last spotted a large break in the stony wall.   
  
"There!" he shouted, grabbing hold of Pierre's mushroom and tugging him in the right direction. Together, the duo dashed desperately. Pikachu was sure he could feel the beating of the Beedrills' translucent wings on his tail, so he ran that much harder, dragging Pierre along with him. Without a second thought, he threw himself and his friend into the cave, tumbling against the hard, cold stone until they mercifully fell to rest in the pitch black of the cave.  
  
Pikachu cracked his already-aching head hard against a large rock, finally stopping. He sat up dizzily, trying without success to pierce the blackness. In the distance, he saw the tiny dot of light that was the cave mouth. Dozens of dangerous yellow shapes buzzed by the entrance, but did not enter the dark domain.  
  
"We…we did it!" Pierre's voice echoed from across the cave. "We're safe!"  
  
Pikachu's pain-filled ears detected a deep, heavy panting that wasn't his own. "Yeah," he heaved a sigh, resting against the rock that had nearly split his skull. "You can take it easy, now."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Pikachu frowned, hearing the panting right through Pierre's confused question. "Isn't that your breathing?"  
  
The Pokémon's response chilled Pikachu's marrow. "No. You dragged me most of the way across the clearing, I had a chance to catch my breath."  
  
"Then…" Without further question, Pikachu again focused his inner energies, this time bringing them to the surface of his skin. With a crackle of energy, he activated his Hidden Machine talent, shedding some literal light on the subject. A soft amber glow emanated from his body, illuminating the cave walls, Pierre's wide eyes across the way, and the rock Pikachu was leaning on-  
  
-which turned out to be a large, surly Onix freshly awakened from his nap.  
  
Pikachu watched the Onix's enormous pupils dilate as they focused in on its unlikely alarm clock. Behind him, another trio of Onix was just waking up to see what was causing all the ruckus. They quickly spied the two intruders, and adopted the same attitude as their brother.  
  
"We're in the Onix Cave…" Pierre muttered as the burly foursome slithered and loomed over them.  
  
"Correction…" Pikachu muttered, pallid and quiet with fear as he stared up at the angry awakened Pokémon. "We're going to 'die' in the Onix Cave."  
  
The screams of a pair of pint-sized Pokémon echoing from the cave quickly caught the attention of a swarm of angry, displaced Beedrill.  
  
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Charizard leaned back against the soft grass, lacing his muscular claws behind his neck as he sighed in contentment. "This has to be the best idea Hat-Boy ever had," he commented.  
  
"I hear that." Pidgeot agreed, nibbling and poking at the grass for any signs of underground nourishment. "This has been the best day ever."  
  
Wartortle and Ivysaur were quick to voice their concurrence, but stopped short as an unlikely pair emerged from the edge of their clearing. "Holy…" Wartortle whistled, lowering his shades to take a better look.  
  
Pikachu led the way, covered in more bruises and cuts than he would have sported after a full tournament of battles. Behind him, a Paras that none of the quartet recognized followed him, a little scuffed, but not nearly as beaten up as his companion. Their friend staggered forward, all but collapsing as he finally reached them.  
  
"Whoa." Ivysaur approached his pal, poking him carefully with his sharpened vine. "You okay, 'Chu?"  
  
"You look like hell warmed over," Charizard snorted twin flames of amusement from his nostrils. Then he looked past Pikachu, glaring at the unfamiliar Paras. "Hey, who's the walking pizza topping?"  
  
Pikachu glared at his comrades from the ground, slumping over in exhaustion. "Guys, this is Pierre. Pierre, these are the guys."  
  
"Hi!" Pierre waved his foreclaw amiably at Pikachu's partners.  
  
"So what happened?" Wartortle asked, replacing his sunglasses nonchalantly. "Seems like you found the excitement you were looking for, li'l buddy."  
  
The yellow mouse's hateful glare intensified exponentially. "Oh, I found it all right. In fact, we had so much fun that I brought him back here to meet you guys." spat Pikachu.  
  
Charizard rose onto his haunches, leaning against a tree as he examined the squirt scornfully. "That so? Name's Charizard. Cross me, and I'll eat you."  
  
Ivysaur laughed at Pierre's horrified expression. He shook his flattened, froggish head as he laughed. "Ignore him. He's an ass. Welcome to the club, Pierre."  
  
"Wow, thanks…" Pierre said with wide, brimming eyes. "I don't know what to say." He turned downcast, looking abashedly at the grassy ground. "Usually, people don't like to be around me…"  
  
"Can't imagine why," Charizard laughed again.  
  
The tree supporting Charizard decided to break; it creaked and moaned as its massive roots snapped. The mighty tree fell, leaving Charizard unbalanced and hanging in the air until gravity got the better of him and slammed him into the unforgiving ground. He was in the midst of picking himself up, to the chorus of everyone else's laughter, when an ominous buzzing sound emanated from the toppled tree.  
  
"What's that?" Pidgeot's head tilted at the odd noise.  
  
He didn't have to wait long for an answer. Dozens upon dozens of Beedrill shot from the tree, hovering in the air and scanning the area for their bothersome intruders. Charizard and the rest were quickly spotted, and for a moment, the two foes simply stared at each other, one side hatefully, and the other side fearfully.  
  
"Uh-oh…" Wartortle's glasses slipped from his face as the Beedrill began to approach.  
  
Pikachu's four pals began a mad dash for the edge of the clearing, with Pierre close at hand and a wave of deadly Beedrill closing in. Pikachu, still slumped on the grass, watched with exhausted delight as his friends were driven right into the middle of a brambly patch of bushes before slipping out of sight.  
  
Alone once more, Pikachu stretched luxuriously on the soft carpet of grass, letting his aches and pains settle down for a long rest before Ash's legs came looking for them. "I think it's time for a rest," he sighed.  
  
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=_Author's Notes_=  
  
This was one of the most difficult things I've ever tried to write, and it still sucks. Well, fear not, for the first installment of the movie is coming soon. Keep your eyes peeled, 'cause the best is definitely yet to come!


	3. For Those Of You Not Paying Attention

_WHAT HAS COME BEFORE…  
_  
Ash Ketchum, as we all know, started out at the tender age of ten on a quest to become a Pokémon Master, following in the footsteps of his father, Seth Ketchum. Partnered with a temperamental Pikachu who soon grew to be his closest and most trusted companion. Ash met his other lifelong friends along the way; Misty, a fiery redheaded water trainer with a tremendous temper, and Brock, a gentle and caring master of Rock Pokémon. Together, the three explored the adventures that Pokémon Island had to offer, learning more about themselves and the world around them with each encounter.  
  
But, as with all journeys, Ash's finally came to an end after nearly four years on the road. He retired briefly to Pallet Town, venturing out occasionally to compete in tournaments or visit his friends in different cities. But sedentary life in Pallet quickly became dull to the thrill-seeking boy. An unseen force called out to him from across the ocean, bidding him out into the world. And so, with his trusted companions by his side, a fifteen-year-old Ash once again set out, this time crossing the globe on a quest to do what no trainer had ever done before; collect a badge from every Pokémon Gym on the planet.  
  
The first year of his global journey was quite eventful. He learned of Team Rocket's true master, Alfred Giovanni, and became a personal target for the crime lord. On a side trip to the village of Machu Pachu, he captured a youthful incarnation of the legendary bird of ice, Articuno. But most important to the tale, Ash had a near-death experience that brought him into contact with a mystic and benevolent being he later came to know as the Pokégoddess. She imparted to Ash cryptic warnings of the apocalypse, and his role in what could be the final hours of the Earth. Ash left the experience whole again, but with a sense of impending dread he couldn't rationalize.  
  
Later, Ash discovered that he was not the only one called upon by the Goddess. Two others had received her call: Richard Pryde, a friend/rival Ash had met during his first Indigo Games, and Giselle Narcissa, an arrogant young beauty determined to shine brighter than anyone else. They too had captured legendary birds, which was apparently the initial test to determine their worthiness. The next test was far more difficult; facing off against the dark demon Missingno, one of the ancient Children of Darkness prophesized in old Pokémopolitan texts. Richard lost his mind to the demon, and Giselle's pride was mortally wounded as Ash proved himself the true chosen, driving off the demon and exerting control over the Demon Ball that had once held it.  
  
Unconsciously uncomfortable with his new role as global protector, Ash set off on a new quest, this time to the continental United States. While collecting badges, he also aided a young woman by the name of Dixon Mason in finding her late grandfather's lost and scattered works, the Hidden Machines. During this time, he also became a target for Team Rocket's elite assassin squad, the Omega Red. With the help of his friends, old and new, Ash successfully collected the HMs, the badges, and avoided being killed.   
  
At the end of his American journey, Ash was pitted against Exile, another of the Children of Darkness whose body was living rock. During the battle, an untapped source of primal power was awakened in Ash, though he has little memory of the event, and is unable to reproduce its incredible effects. With these powers and the help of the Hidden Machines, Ash defeated Exile, containing the creature in its Demon Ball.  
  
But the battle had a terrible price; Misty was mortally wounded. To save her, Ash struck a deal with the Pokégoddess; he agreed to fuse his life force with the remainder of hers, thus preserving her life. The desperate act worked, but came with an odd price tag; Ash and Misty are bonded in ways neither of them truly fathom. Ash has kept silent about the miraculous deal, afraid to reveal it to Misty.  
  
A call from a partially-recovered Richard drew Ash and Company back to the Island. There, he was confronted by Giselle, who had been chasing after Missingno the entire year Ash had been away. She accused Ash of shirking his duties, to which he had no reply. Teaming up, they set out to capture Missingno, who was terrorizing the Pallet Town area. In the end, it became apparent that Missingno was controlling Giselle and in possession of her soul. The demon gained control of several other of his loved ones, amassing so much power as to construct a soul of his own. Missingno was defeated by Ash when the Disciple stepped up to the plate and somehow added his power to Pikachu's, creating a Flash effect that destroyed the demon's body and restored the souls of his friends and family. But again, there was a terrible price; Richard's spine was broken, rendering him paralyzed from the waist down.  
  
Determined to accept his destiny, Ash left his home and his friends behind, setting out with a mysterious mercenary known only as Solo. It has been two years since that fateful night in Pallet Town, and once again, destiny has caught up to our hero.

**CAST OF CHARACTERS  
**  
Ashlan Terrance Ketchum  
  
Born in Pallet Town to Seth and Delia Ketchum, Ash was always the adventurous type. He was never content to sit on the sidelines and watch, but instead jumped right into the thick of things at the first possible opportunity. What he lacks in skill he makes up for in pure determination, refusing to give up no matter how bleak the situation appears. Often rash and impulsive, his recklessness has been tempered somewhat, partially thanks to sobering situations of planetary importance, and partially thanks to the constant nagging of his surrogate family of Misty and Brock.  
  
Ash has been selected by the Pokégoddess, an ethereal being that watches over the Earth realm, as her Disciple, a warrior for peace and the helpless. As such, he possesses powers even he doesn't understand yet, including a strange energy-projection ability he employed during a battle with Exile in Snowfort, Alaska that he doesn't clearly remember and can't reproduce. However, under the tutelage of Solo, Ash has mastered the powers inherent to the generations of Disciples that came before him; the ability to Soul-Link with a Pokémon, immediately creating a sense of understanding that many trainers will never know with their partners. In times of extreme duress, a Disciple can actually transfer a portion of his soul/life essence into his Pokémon, giving it an increase in power and strength that has yet to find its limits.  
  
Ash's standard team consists of Pikachu, Charizard, Pidgeot, Wartortle, and Ivysaur.  
  
Mysterious Waterflower  
  
Misty (never call her 'Mysterious' unless you've lost the will to live) comes from Cerulean City, and is the youngest of four daughters, all Pokémon trainers, all beautiful. However, because of her status as a late bloomer, Misty has been and always will be considered the runt of the family by her siblings. That being the case, she spends as little time at home as possible, preferring the life on the road with Ash.  
  
A talented trainer of twenty-one, Misty is sometimes prone to violent outbursts. Her red hair and Irish temper often provide answers where words will not do, earning her a healthy sense of respect and fear from those that know her. To her dearest friends, however, she is a trusted and valued ally, invaluable both in and out of battle. She's quick to smile, and even quicker to point out all of Ash's mistakes. Don't let that fool you, though; she's always had a soft spot for Ash, and their on-again-off-again romance has even the most level-headed and capable of individuals baffled.  
  
Misty's standard team consists of Togetic, Staryu, Starmie, Poliwrath, Golduck, and Kingdra.  
  
Brock Stone  
  
Hailing from Pewter City, an old mining town famous for its rocks, Brock is the former local Gym leader and a self-proclaimed ladies' man. Flourishing in the world outside of his house and away from his multitude of brothers and sisters, an opportunity afforded to him thanks to his father's timely return, Brock has grown into a strong and confident man in his early twenties.   
  
Though powerful in body and as a trainer, Brock remains a gentle, almost maternal force, and is the glue that binds the rest of his adopted family together. He often acts as big brother and peacekeeper to and between Ash and Misty, offering advice and preventing the pair from killing each other. Brock has yet to win the heart of a single Jenny or Joy, though he's come close on a few occasions. If only he wouldn't trip over his own tongue whenever they came near…  
  
Brock's standard team consists of Golem, Onix, Geodude, Pineco, Crobat and Ninetails.  
  
Professor Samuel Oak  
  
A wise old sage in his early sixties, Professor Oak has acted as father and mentor to Ash since the boy's father disappeared over ten years ago. He owns and operates an independent lab just outside of Pallet Town's borders, and is rumored to own several other financial investments that amount to quite the pretty penny. Despite this, the old man can't even bring himself to buy a new lab coat. He's always good for free advice, though, and always, always seems to know more than he's letting on. In all the years Ash has know Professor Oak, he can count the number of times he's seen the old man surprised on one hand.  
  
Solo  
  
Not much is known about the enigmatic man known as Solo. Even his features are a mystery, hidden behind a mask of pure black. He's wanted by a number of international law enforcement agencies on vague vigilante charges, but on the whole seems to be a responsible individual bent on protecting the innocent. He has appeared to Ash on a few occasions, never helping directly but always offering advice. Ash spent a year traveling with Solo, learning the secrets of the Disciple from the unlikely mentor. Though seemingly benevolent, it is not clear just who Solo works for, if anyone at all.  
  
Garret Oak  
  
The grandson of the legendary Professor Oak, Gary has made a name for himself as a world-class trainer. He was recently involved in a scandal surrounding his victory over Ash Ketchum at a previous Indigo tournament in which he became League Champion. Gary exposed himself willingly and renounced his title, setting out to do something better with his life. In the two years following, Gary has traveled the world, seeking some way to help Ash and make reparations for his past sins.  
  
Alfred Giovanni  
  
The shadowy head of Team Rocket, Giovanni spends his days masquerading as a legitimate business titan, and his nights plotting his eventual conquest of the realm of man. His interest in Ash Ketchum has piqued over the years, culminating in the demonstration of power he witnessed in a video of the Battle of Snowfort. Relentless and cunning, Giovanni is capable of planning moves years in advance. Some of those very moves may be coming to fruition as we speak…er, read. Whatever.  
  
Jessica Queens  
  
An agent of the nefarious Team Rocket, Jessie has been one of Ash's nemeses for nearly a decade. She possesses radiant beauty, sharp intelligence, and a temper to match Misty's. Jessie's life has been dominated by failure and humiliation, from her humble and penniless childhood beginnings right up to her dismal career as a villain. But true to her malevolent nature, Jessie has yet to give up on her dreams of glory and power.  
  
James Mountebanks  
  
Jessie's longtime partner, James gave up a life of privilege to fight for Team Rocket. And like Jessie, he's gotten nothing but pain and humiliation out of it. His only assets now are his charming good looks, an impressive collection of bottle caps, and the ability to produce a rose seemingly from nowhere. He and Jessie are also accomplished disguise artists, trained by Master Psi of Omega Red himself. However, they lack the subtlety to fully blend in to their surroundings, and often give themselves away with garish costumes and ridiculous covers.  
  
Meowth  
  
One of the few non-demonic, non-destructive Pokémon possessing the ability to speak English (or Japanese, or Islander, whichever suits his needs), Meowth is one impressive Pokémon…provided you don't actually need him in a fight. He's been swindling, conniving, and tricking his way through life, trying to come out as "Top Cat," but has yet to succeed. Nothing is ever his fault; it's always been Jessie and James that hold him back from becoming a creature of true magnificence, rather than just a two-bit hood. 


	4. Act One, Scene One

It was an absolutely gorgeous afternoon, which only made the walk down Pallet Lane even harder. Sunshine beat down upon his broad shoulders where the shade of the grand old trees lining the path could not reach. There wasn't a cloud to be found in the expansive blue sky, where the Pidgey and Spearow flew above and sang their happy songs. A cool breeze wafted through the sleepy little hamlet, brushing stray strands of hair against his forehead. The weather was peaceful, calm, and cheery to a fault.   
  
As far as he was concerned, it only made the day worse.  
  
His feet tread sullenly against the dirt path as he slowly made his way to a very familiar house. A healthy, golden tan glistened on his skin, a souvenir he had picked up on his most recent trip into the heart of Africa. Of all the ways he had planned to spend his first day back from the six-month excursion, this never even entered into his thoughts while in the middle of the steamy jungles. And yet, now that he was home, he couldn't think of any other way to go about it.  
  
Off in the distance, he saw the house in question. It was a creamy white two-story with sky blue trim and a cute picket fence encircling the neatly kept yard. He knew the house well after years of whiling away the afternoon with Mrs. Ketchum and Professor Oak over a warm, friendly cup of tea. As he drew closer he saw a flash of orange-red rocking on the porch swing, and gave a small wave of greeting.  
  
Misty watched him approach, grinning at him from the suspended seat. She was dressed in a sexy yellow tank top and cutoff shorts to stave off the abnormal heat wave. Her taut tummy poked out beneath the hem of the shirt, rising and falling with each even breath she took. She had cut her hair unusually short and styled it close to her head, with a pair of stunning blue studs in her shapely ears to match her eyes. Pikachu sat beneath her fingers, purring contently as she scratched him behind the ears.  
  
"Tracey!" She greeted their new guest with a smile as he approached the porch, gently rocking herself back and forth on the swing. "How was your trip?"  
  
Tracey Sketch ascended the short steps of the porch as he examined Misty with open concern. Up close, he could see a butterfly patch adorning her cheek, as well as other cuts and bruises on her visible skin that were in the process of healing. Even so, her smile was no less radiant, and her manner upbeat and chipper.  
  
"Hey," he greeted her guardedly. Looking about, he was surprised to see Misty all by herself (Pikachu excluded, of course). He had half expected her to be a wreck, not the well-adjusted young lady he saw before him. "Um… How are you doing?" he asked her carefully.  
  
She waved him off with a laugh. "Everyone's been asking me that lately," she said. "I'm fine. Never better!"  
  
"Okay, okay," he said, giving her a small, uncertain smile in return. "So, uh, wha'cha been up to?" It felt like an idiotic question to ask, but he didn't know what else to say.  
  
"Same as always," she sighed, looping her arms across the back of the swing. "Just waiting for Ash." Pikachu, not content with her prior attentions, crawled into Misty's lap and snuggled in, dozing the warm afternoon away. "He's late again."  
  
"Oh…" was all that Tracey could come up with. He stood there a moment, rubbing his arm uncomfortably.  
  
Sensing his ill-ease, Misty chucked her thumb in the door's direction behind her. "Mom's inside with Professor Oak if you wanted to talk to them. I'm sure you didn't just come to shoot the breeze with me all day." Her smile never faltered once.  
  
"Oh," he said again, "Sure." He started past her, then stopped when she didn't rise. "Are you…" Tracey trailed off.  
  
"Oh, I'll be right out here." Misty shrugged. She looked back out at the hills and trees, smiling to herself. "Someone has to be here to chew Ash out for being so late."  
  
Tracey nodded once, but Misty's attention had already returned to the road. He doubted that she even knew he was there anymore. Sighing, the artistic researcher pushed through the door and into the house. Inside, he quickly and quietly followed the noise in the home to the kitchen, where the small gathering was focused. Compared with the other times he had been a guest in the Ketchum household, the atmosphere was considerably subdued.  
  
"Ah," Professor Oak greeted his young assistant from the table, raising his steaming mug in greeting as he gave Tracey a weak smile. "Tracey. Good to see you, lad."  
  
Brock also said his hellos, breaking away from the stove long enough to trade handshakes with his old friend. The brawny breeder wore his trademark pink apron over a sleeveless olive T-Shirt. A solid black band was wrapped around his bulging bicep. "Glad you could make it, Pencil Pusher," Brock ribbed him gently.  
  
"Good to be here, Rockhead." Tracey pulled him into a brief hug before gratefully accepting a mug of coffee. As always, Brock brewed a Mount Moon blend to perfection. Tracey sipped slowly, savoring the drink. It was his first decent coffee in months. Unfortunately, it didn't distract him long from his purpose. He began looking about over the rim of his mug. "Where's the lady of the house?" he asked softly.  
  
"Right here," came the soft reply from behind.   
  
Tracey set his mug on the counter and enveloped Delia Ketchum in a gentle embrace as she set foot into her kitchen. She was dressed in a set of simple dark pants with a stylish black blouse. Though dry at the moment, her eyes were severely reddened, a detail that didn't escape the trained eye of the young researcher.  
  
"Thanks so much for coming, Tracey." Delia released him after another squeeze, drawing him back to get a good look at her young friend. "I know you just got back, and it means so much to me."  
  
"How could I stay away?" He took his mug up again, sitting down next to Oak and taking another long drag of coffee. His eyes remained glued to the tabletop as he looked at anything and everything to avoid Delia's soft gaze. The guilt he felt was overwhelming. "I just wish…"  
  
"Don't go there," Brock shook his head, sitting opposite the two scientists. "Just don't. We've all been saying that for the past week. It wouldn't have been any different." He cradled his own mug, staring down at the rippling brown ooze. The beefy breeder's brow furrowed over his narrow eyes, crinkling with a terrible weight.  
  
Tracey nodded. "Right. Sorry."  
  
For a moment, there was a long, awkward pause. Then Professor Oak asked an innocuous question about Tracey's trip to the Congo. Though he ached to ask more, Tracey waited patiently. He told stories of his adventures in Africa. None of them seemed terribly exciting to him, but he held their rapt interest nonetheless. Somehow, stories of drinking the wrong water didn't seem nearly as exciting as he had once found them.  
  
After a long hour of personal reminiscence, Tracey's patience finally broke. "…and that's when I heard the news." he finished his current yarn. "I, uh…I came as soon as I could."  
  
"You did arrive awfully quick." Delia agreed, sitting next to Brock and Professor Oak to complete their quartet. She reached across the table and placed a comforting hand on his. The situation seemed laughably backwards, except he didn't find any humor in it whatsoever.  
  
"I came as soon as I heard." he said.  
  
Professor Oak frowned, leaning in. "Just how much have you heard?" he asked.  
  
"Not much." Tracey admitted. "I got your message as soon as we made it to the next outpost, and from there I hopped every form of transportation I could get on. Every now and then, I managed to get hold of some news service articles. I don't know how much I should trust them-"  
  
"Not a word." Brock's mug shook as his hand tightened in a rage. "Not one damn word. 'He' got to the media first, and-" It was only Delia's calming touch on his arm that quieted him.  
  
"Why don't we tell him what really happened?" she suggested gently.  
  
Tracey suddenly felt very uncomfortable as he sensed the mood in the room grow even more despondent. He felt guilt rise in his throat once again for voicing the very questions he had come to ask. "I don't want to open any more wounds," he said lamely, hoping for a graceful way out.  
  
Delia shook her head with a sad smile. "It's better if we keep the truth alive, and not those lies they're spreading in the news." she reassured him. Then she looked to Brock encouragingly, pleading to him without words. "I'm afraid, though, that not all of the story is mine to tell."  
  
Brock seemed a little surprised. "Me? No, I…I couldn't." he stammered. "I mean, I was only there for parts, too."  
  
"A good deal more than either of us," Professor Oak reminded him.  
  
"Well," Brock admitted, "I only heard some of the beginning of it secondhand from Ash…" But the damage was done; everyone else at the table hung on his every word now, staring intently at the newly-appointed storyteller. With a defeated sigh, he paused only a moment to refill his mug before settling in once more. "I guess it started about three weeks ago," he began, "At a castle in Germany…"  
  
[_Net Ghost Productions, LTD 2004 Presents…_]  
  
A cold, bitter wind bit at his cheeks as he stood upon the highest parapet. He placed a foot up on the low wall, surveying the breathtaking view laid out like a carpet. Were he a poet, he would write about the dancing clouds in the crystal sky. If he was a painter, he would seek to capture the rolling plains and the distant mountains on canvas. But he was neither. He was only a well-traveled trainer who wasn't as impressed with the view as the other tourists seemed to be.  
  
[_A Movie by Cyberwraith Nine…_]  
  
'_I know our mountains back home are bigger,_' he thought to himself with a pang of homesickness. Everywhere he had been in the last two years had paled in comparison to his beloved Island and the people he had left behind. He could recall a time, not four years ago, when he would have gnawed off his own foot to free himself of the invisible shackles that the Island had bound him with. Now, here he was, a young man about to celebrate his nineteenth birthday, and the only gift he wanted was to go home to his family.  
  
Pikachu yawned at his feet, unable to see over the rocky ledge and uninterested in trying. He curled up and hunkered down, ready to snooze the day away on the warm, sunny rocks the humans had gathered fifteen hundred years before to stave off attacks from other humans. The castle was just like any other man-made structure to Pikachu: artificial and inferior to the shelter found in a simple, natural forest. Pikachu would trust a tree for defense sooner than he'd trust some smelly, moldy old stone fort a bunch of sword-toting lunatics had put together a millennia and a half before he had been born.  
  
It had been two years of fruitless searching for a sign, any sign, of the remaining Children of Darkness prophesized in the Foretelling of Ma'Kala. Exile was still trapped at old Oak's lab, and Rick and Dixie were ever on the trail of the phantom Missingno. He, in the meantime, had trekked across Europe and parts of Asia, with a brief stop to the coast of western Africa.  
  
In those two years, he had honed his body and mind into powerful weapons through constant and grueling training. He had spent months with Xiaolin monks, famous tacticians, military commanders, artists, poets, chefs, blacksmiths, dancers, divers…anywhere and everywhere he went, he learned whatever he could from whoever would teach him. And of course, he kept his 'mon sharp by battling at gyms.  
  
Old habits were the hardest to kill.  
  
So Ashlan Terrance Ketchum, one of the youngest Pokémon Masters on the planet, in possession of over two hundred badges, accomplished practitioner of both Dratini and Mankey styles of Kung Fu, and expect craftsman of everything from swords to soufflés, had reached the end of his Germany tour. The lederhosen-wearing, chocolate-producing, holier-than-thou country had left the trainer feeling extremely dissatisfied. All of Europe, in fact, had failed to produce a challenge worthy of his time. It wasn't necessarily a matter of ego (though he possessed a more than healthy outlook on himself). Even his Pokémon were getting bored with the local flavor, just like he was.  
  
Ash looked down at his Poké-partner, giving the little guy a little smile. "Guess you could use some excitement too, huh?" Pikachu snored in response, broadening Ash's grin. "Yeah. For a castle, this place is pretty boring." He sighed, leaning against his raised knee as he gazed out over the landscape. "Wish something exciting would happen…"  
  
"Ash Ketchum!"  
  
The cry came from the courtyard below, where dozens of pasty tourists milled about. Ash pulled himself from his revere and looked down, spotting the source of the commotion. He saw a small shape below, waving its arms and shouting up at him. Absently, Ash couldn't help but wonder if life listened in on his monologues and took cues from them. He waved back at the shape.  
  
"Ketchum!" the miniscule figure shouted up with a thick German accent. "Ich bin Otto von Mobele, champion of das Blitz League!" Otto scornfully jabbed a finger in Ash's skyward direction with a voice full of contempt. "I challenge you to a match! We shall decide who is the better trainer!"  
  
Ash had been through too many battles to be fazed by some loudmouthed, overconfident whelp of a trainer. Hell, he used to _be_ one! From where he stood, Otto couldn't have been more than sixteen, which would make him a child prodigy, like Ash had been…at least, that's what they had called him. For a time, he had bought into it, too. But defeat had humbled him, and age had tempered his fiery passions, giving him the experience and wisdom he needed to keep a sense of respect and dignity when faced with an arrogant opponent.  
  
…usually.  
  
When he wasn't feeling bored.  
  
Unfortunately for Otto, now was not one of his more 'tempered' moments.  
  
Ash glanced down at Pikachu. The little Pokémon was beginning to stir at all the hubbub. He glared grouchily at his trainer, as if to say '_This is all your fault._' Then again, Ash supposed, it was. After a moment of listening to Otto's broken English, though, Pikachu's grumpy glower changed into a smirk, one which he exchanged knowingly with Ash before the trainer turned his attention back to the courtyard. He could sense the mouse's growing excitement over the possibility of a match. If Pikachu thought it was a good idea, then who was he to disagree?  
  
There was already a crowd gathering around Otto, curious as to what was going on. A few of them murmured excitedly, recognizing the name of Otto's opponent as the German champion bellowed it for the entire castle to hear. "I challenge you, Ash Ketchum!" Otto hollered with his hands cupped to his mouth. Then, spreading his arms wide, the boy added, "Unless you're afraid, of course."  
  
Reaching for his belt, Ash felt his resolve solidify. "You just used the magic words, kid." he murmured softly. His hand operated solely by memory, plucking a particular containment sphere from its magnetic holster. He thumbed the switch, feeling the Pokéball expand to fill his palm. If Otto wanted to call him out in front of all these people, that was fine. But if the local hero could put on a show, then why not him?  
  
Jitters of anticipation ran up and down his spine as he stepped up onto the low stone rim. Only a few inches separated his toes from a fall that ended fifty meters below in a wall of solid stone. One slip could turn most of his body into a fine mush. Onlookers gathered closer around Otto, gasping and pointing as Ash spread his own arms wide. Pikachu jumped up to join his feet, crouching in eagerness of the fun to come.  
  
"I accept!" Ash called, and stepped off.  
  
A collective shriek rose up from the growing crowd as Ash plummeted. The moment his shoes left the stone, he had already triggered the release catch on the ball in his hand. He tossed it below him, watching in satisfaction as a wave of light erupted as the ball split, uniting unto itself to form a gigantic avian shape.  
  
A smile graced the trainer's features as he felt a warm, familiar power wrap around him. The entire world turned a soft yellowish color as Pidgeot flapped his powerful wings, slowing his descent the natural way even as he grasped Ash and Pikachu with the powers of the second Hidden Machine. In the amber embrace, the trainer and his Pokémon glided gently to the ground.  
  
It took a moment for the crowd to recover, giving Ash time to collect Pidgeot back in his ball. Then, they roared in approval as one, much to Otto's annoyance. Clearly the younger boy hadn't counted on his opponent stealing his thunder. Ash rubbed his hands together and he got a closer look at the leather-jacketed, grungy long-haired lad, and silently vowed that Otto would be receiving a few more disappointments that day.  
  
"What's the stakes?" Ash asked, locking his burning golden gaze with Otto's pallid blue eye. The passion that the scenery had failed to evoke in Ash was now pounding through his veins, stemming from the thought of a challenge. This was his world; title or no title, Otto was about to discover who the _real_ champion was.  
  
Otto von Mobele rediscovered the confidence that Ash's incredible entrance had robbed him of. The murmurs of the gathered throng already spoke of who they were favoring in the fight, and that made Otto mad. He was determined to take this upstart foreigner, who had the gall to beat every gym in their proud country, and put him back in his place. "According to League rules, wir konnen any number of Badges in a match wagering."  
  
"Fine," Ash grunted, deducing the gist of Otto's sentence through the boy's broken English. Once again, his hand snapped to his waist, this time coming back with a thin red device. It looked similar to an electric notebook, only smaller and more streamlined, with a large sensor package at its top. "Dex," Ash said, flipping the device open, "Scan the badge inventory. Let's see what we need."  
  
"Eine moment, bitte." the device responded, eliciting a few more '_oohs_' and '_ahhs_' from the crowd. Ash could tell that Dexter was enjoying the attention, as it took him longer (with more beeping) than usual to come up with an answer. "Looks like you're missing the badge from Munich, herr Kommandant."  
  
"That's right," Ash mused out loud, "Team Rocket blew it up before I could get my badge there. Thanks, Dex."  
  
"Kase!" Dex replied as Ash clipped him back onto his belt.  
  
Otto opened his jacket, scanning briefly through the twenty badges clipped to the inside of his lining. "Ja," he replied coolly without being asked. "Ich habe der badge von Munchen. But what are you to wager in return willing?"  
  
His opponent pondered the question for a moment, then reached into his own jacket and pulled out a small, yellow pin from within. "How about this?" he asked, turning the badge about for everyone to see. It was tiny and ugly, but Ash held it as if it meant the world to him. "It's a championship badge from Indigo League. One of a kind, specially made for my reign as League Champ."  
  
Another gasp hissed from those in the crowd that followed international Leagues. Everyone had heard of Indigo, the most prestigious league anywhere around the globe. Those that knew how tough the competition was on the Island whistled in appreciation of the risk Ash was ready to take. For a former champion to wager this badge of office, well…it was unheard of!  
  
"Wirklich?" Otto murmured, gazing adoringly at the ugly little pin. "Why would you such a thing do?" His hand unconsciously opened and closed, as if longing to hold it in his hand.   
  
"Hey," Ash retorted as he reversed his cap, "If you aren't willing to risk everything, then you aren't ready to play the game." He looked down at Pikachu, who was already sparking at the cheeks in anticipation. The thundermouse hadn't had a good fight in months. Now it was time to see if Otto could own up. "Let's do this old-school; six on six, no time limit, no items. Once they're down, they're out, but recall's okay."  
  
"Ja," Otto nodded, pulling his eyes away from the badge. His greasy face grew grim as he glared at his opponent. Once more, the confidence he had held earlier returned to his demeanor as he pushed his jacket back, revealing his own belt full of Pokéballs. "Whenever you ready are, Herr Ketchum."  
  
Ash's eyes narrowed. His lips drew back into an excited smile as his hand wavered next to his belt. Otto was a lot of talk, but after being in Germany all month, Ash was willing to give anyone who had proven himself the best in the land a little credit. It was time to see how much that credit would buy the German.  
  
"Let's do it."  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 


	5. Theme!

----------------------------------BADGEQUEST----------------------------------  
  
----------------------------------THE MOVIE----------------------------------  
  
{You know the music. Sing along!}  
  
I wanna be the very best,  
Greatest there ever was…  
To see it all is my real quest,  
Adventure is my cause…

I will travel around the world,  
Searching high and low…  
My destiny has been unfurled,  
It's time to finally go!  
  
Pokémon!  
Undoubtedly  
We're gonna make his-to-ry!  
  
Pokémon!  
My heart I'll lend,  
Through the dark and bitter end…

Pokémon!  
A journey new,  
Together we'll see it through!  
With a love so rare and true,  
Po-ké-mon! [Gotta save the world!]  
Gotta save the world!  
  
With every challenge in each new day,  
I will not be beat!  
I'll find a way, I'll fight, I'll stay,  
I won't run or accept defeat…  
  
Come with me, the time is now,  
And there's no better team.  
I don't know when, I don't know how,  
But we will find our dream…  
  
Pokémon!  
Oh, can't you see?  
You bring out the best in me!  
  
Pokémon!  
Our wills won't bend,  
'gainst the darkness we must mend…  
  
Pokémon!  
It's me and you…  
There's nothing that we can't do!  
Who knows where we're running to?  
Po-ké-mon! [Gotta save 'em]  
Gotta save the world!  
  
{{Kickin' Guitar Solo}}  
  
Pokémon!  
It's you and me!  
I know it's my destiny!  
  
Pokémon!  
You're my best friend,  
In a world we must defend!  
  
Pokémon!  
A heart so true…  
Our courage will pull us through!  
You teach me and I'll teach you!  
Po-ké-mon! [Gotta save the world!]  
Gotta save the world!  
  
Pokémon!


	6. Act One, Scene Two

Otto fell to his knees as he sobbed piteously into his palms. He struck the sun-warmed stone of the courtyard with a dull thud, oblivious to the hushed murmur intermixed with open cheering and applause all around him from the gathered throng. Usually the accolades were reserved for the German champion, but on this day, they went to a different individual.  
  
Ash recalled the last of his Pokémon with a flick of the wrist as his slumbering Snorlax was pulled back into its ball. Long locks of black hair danced before his eyes as he reached up and twisted his hat back into its normal position. Pikachu bounded away from the impromptu battlefield back to his feet with a joyous cry, bringing a smile to his trainer's face.   
  
"Well, that was…invigorating," the former Indigo champ fibbed as he sauntered forward. His mother had always taught him to be gracious in victory as well as defeat, but with opponents full of so much hot air such as Otto, it was just so damned difficult. "Now, about that badge…"  
  
"Warum?" Otto sniffled loudly. He pulled his tear-streaked face away from his hands, looking up at Ash with total despair. "How could you defeat me?" It was lucky the crowd had begun to disperse; if they had seen their so-called champion in this state, they might have denounced him then and there as a phony and a child. As it was, only a handful saw his display, and they merely clucked their tongues and shook their heads before moving on.  
  
"Hey," Ash shrugged, "Never underestimate the power of a good theme song. Now, as per our arrangement?"   
  
Miserably, the German boy reached into his jacket and pulled out a tiny, shining pin in the shape of a beer stein. Ash quirked his eyebrow at the choice of badge design, but remained silent as he snatched the pin and popped it into his pocket.   
  
Otto's sniveling had yet to cease, so he reached out and hesitantly placed a hand on his opponent's shoulder. "Uh…there, there. Just keep practicing. You almost had me on the ropes there with your Typhlosion."  
  
"You beat him with your IVYSAUR!" Otto sobbed, resuming his tearful tantrum.  
  
"Uh, ye-ah. Well…" The scene was quickly becoming uncomfortable. Ash looked around for some kind of reason to escape gracefully. And, as luck would have it, his opportunity came in a fashion it often did; an explosion.  
  
Without any sort of warning, a large cloud of angry red flames mushroomed on the distant plains, vanishing quickly, but lasting long enough that many of the tourists noticed. Some were even quick enough to capture the event on film, snapping photos as fast as their fingers would allow. Several seconds after they saw the colorful plume blossom from the landscape, a soft rumbling rattled everyone's eardrums. Ash's eyes narrowed at the distant cloud as it dissipated, only to be replaced by another several seconds later, and another after that one.  
  
"Well," he rubbed his hand together, looking down to make sure Pikachu was with him. The little mouse nodded and hopped up onto his shoulder effortlessly as Ash reached for a ball on his belt. "I'd love to stay, but it looks like someone's playing my song. Keep working at it, and maybe we'll have a rematch someday, Otto. Until then…"  
  
Otto and the rest of the remaining crowd tore their eyes away from the exploding landscape at the sound of a Pokémon being released. Once again, Ash's Pidgeot plumed into existence with a shrill shriek, spreading his wings as they converted from energy back to matter. Without even needing an order, Pidgeot extended his power over Ash and Pikachu; the pair were covered in amber energy that tugged them free from Earth's gravity and carried them skyward as Pidgeot himself soared into the air.  
  
"Try the strudel," Ash called to the crowd as they ascended high into the air, "It's fan-tastic!"  
  
The castle and the rest of the area shrunk to the size of a model train set as the trainer and his two Pokémon soared into the stratosphere. Once they had reached a respectable altitude, Pidgeot surged forward with a pulse of wind from his wings, carrying them toward the distant explosions at nearly the speed of sound. The Flying type was capable of far greater speeds, especially if Ash 'helped', but Ash had made that mistake too many times to repeat it; he wanted to gauge the situation before he rushed headlong into anything. 'And,' he added silently as he flipped Gear's cover open, 'It wouldn't hurt to call in some backup.'  
  
"Gear," Ash ordered, shouting above the sound of the wind and the land rushing past them at fantastic speed, "Call the car."  
  
"Right away." responded his communicator.  
  
Gear buzzed softly for a moment against Ash's wrist with a steady beat, mimicking the ringing tone of the phone Ash knew was on the other end. After a moment, a voice replied, muffled by something. "_'Ello?_"  
  
"T," Ash brought Gear close to his face so he wouldn't have to shout so loud. "Where are you?"  
  
"_In the village,_" the enigmatic 'T' replied with a suddenly clear voice. Ash heard rustling in the background, and realized his partner was eating something. His hunch was confirmed when T added, "_They've got a lovely bakery 'ere, mate. You really ought to-_"  
  
"Later, we've got trouble." Ash dismissed his sightseeing immediately. "Gear, run a search of local news and wire services, see if-"  
  
"Already on it, Ash." Gear replied coolly. It didn't surprise Ash that she was already three steps ahead of him; for someone without a body, the Pokégear was one sharp lady. "Patching it through:"  
  
"_Achtung, achtung-_"  
  
"_Gord'n Bennett, Gear,_" T swore from the other end, "_I don't speak bloody German._"  
  
"My apologies. Running translation activated."  
  
"_-just in,_" the announcer's voice now sounded much more mechanical, but at least Ash could understand it now. "_A giant zeppelin of some form has appeared over the southbound autobahn to München, and is trading fire with a small vehicle which had been reported as stolen by French officials. All in the area are advised to remain clear of the area. Military forces are scrambling to meet the crisis. No identification has been made on the zeppelin or the driver of the vehicle. To repeat-_"  
  
"Cut the feed." Ash ordered, and the translated voice halted immediately. "You catch that?"  
  
"_Every word,_" T assured him. "_I've got a fix on your location via Gear's tracking chip. If traffic's been cleared, it should take about ten minutes to rendezvous._"  
  
"So?"  
  
Ash could almost hear the smile in T's voice as he replied casually, "_So I'll see you in five, mate. Stay frosty._"  
  
"Drive quick." Ash snapped Gear's faceplate shut. He clutched at Pikachu's leg reassuringly as the landscape roared past them at near-Mach speeds. Even after years of doing this, it still felt unsettling to be propelled at such a velocity by mere organics and pseudo-scientific magic. Then again, if man were meant to fly…  
  
Suddenly, all his stray thoughts were chased away as they approached the area in question. Despite the warnings over the airwaves, stubborn German commuters remained on the fast-paced autobahn, moving at speeds that would make other countries dizzy. And fastest among them was a tiny green Volvo tearing up the road at better than a hundred and forty KPH.  
  
"I didn't even know those went that fast…" Ash muttered. However, he was far more interested in the enormous, elongated shape chasing after the Volvo. It possessed a silvery metallic skin over the helium tanks that shimmered in the perfect sunlight, with a comparatively small compartment mounted on the bottom with enormous jet thrusters to propel the leviathan forward.   
  
Small though it was, that didn't make the cockpit any less the deadliest portion of the blimp; it possessed some kind of cannon that Ash couldn't make out over the distance, spitting balls of fire down upon the hapless highway. So far, the zeppelin's gunner had yet to actually hit the Volvo, but he was tearing through the rest of the cars like wet tissue, and that made Ash angry.  
  
"Okay Pidgeot," he called to his Pokémon, "I think we've held back enough." Ash closed his eyes for a moment, channeling his thoughts and emotions into a single, unified force. When his eyes reopened, they held a strange colorless glow that pierced the veil of Pidgeot's Fly ability. An instant later that same glow appeared in Pidgeot's eyes, overriding the amber one already present.  
  
Ash could feel part of himself slipping away, as if someone had taken the heat of his body and was siphoning it off somehow. He didn't fear the sensation, however, for he had willed it; he felt that rogue part of his essence slipping sideways, entering Pidgeot's heart and soul with such ease, it was as if Ash had been doing it all his life. All of a sudden, Ash had wings. He had talons. He had this strange craving for Magicarp caught fresh from the surface of a nameless lake.  
  
Ash and Pidgeot were one.  
  
Which meant their strength more than doubled.  
  
"Let's motor!" Ash grinned, willing his spirit into Pidgeot. The Pokémon trilled in response, commanding the very winds around them to carry them further. No longer did the fierce gale oppose them; now the air was as still as death, for it moved in time with them, carrying them towards their goal at their command. It felt as if they were in the eye of the storm as they rode the very wind itself. They had only tried it once or twice, and every time it proved to be both effective and a heady experience.  
  
Ash, Pidgeot and Pikachu swooped in, twisting in midair so that they were now parallel to the autobahn, moving along the left-hand side with the traffic. Cars, busses and trucks shuddered in response to the forcefulness of their wake as they moved with lightning speed toward their objective. The zeppelin loomed in front of them, enormous and majestic, spitting the jets' wash into their faces that sizzled at their skin. Ash squinted and raised his arms against the intense heat as they drew closer still, gaining on the enormous aircraft and its tiny target.  
  
The zeppelin's fire continued to rain down on the highway, tearing apart chunks of asphalt and innocent cars alike with gigantic orbs of flame from a central cannon mounted on the bottom of the cockpit. It swiveled as the gunner tried to gain a bead on the swerving Volvo, but the driver of the speedy car was too quick for the superior firepower to catch it off-guard. But for how long?  
  
"Pikachu," Ash turned his head to face his little Pika-pal on his shoulder, "I think we need some alone time with that driver. Why don't you see if you can stir up some engine troubles?"  
  
Pikachu responded with a toothy grin, and then garnered an enormous electrical charge around him, careful not to let a single volt stray into either Ash or Pidgeot. Ash could have put even more of himself into Pikachu, but he knew his thunderous mouse had more than enough juice to blow a few fuses on his own.   
  
"Piiiiiii…KA!" With a tiny cry, Pikachu's energy lanced out, dancing across the sky and lashing into the aircraft's portside engine. Pikachu kept the flow going for a few more seconds until plumes of smoke started billowing out of the back of the engine. Slowly but surely, the zeppelin began losing speed.  
  
Ash conveyed a quick command to Pidgeot through gestures, and the aerial Pokémon guided them through the smoke. All three held their breath as they used the cover to pass unnoticed underneath the bottom of the cockpit. There, Ash again used gestures, this time to Pikachu. With another brief second to charge, Pikachu pumped massive amounts of electricity into the enormous weapon. The power danced across its surface for a moment before shorting out every system in the fiery generator, rendering it completely useless.  
  
With the zeppelin crippled and unarmed, Ash motioned for Pidgeot to carry them forward and pick up speed. His eyes latched onto the still-swerving Volvo and narrowed; he wanted some answers, and the best place to get them would be from the hunted rather than the hunter.  
  
They flew just three short meters over the top of the pavement. A fall at these speeds from this height (or any height) would prove very fatal, and 'very' painful, but he trusted Pidgeot with his life and then some. "Lower and closer, pal!" Ash called, and Pidgeot obeyed, bringing them down and forward until they were close enough to simply reach out and grasp at the roof of the car. And that's exactly what Ash did.  
  
The luggage rack was close at hand and conveniently designed, so Ash grasped at the thin metal bar and pulled himself closer. He grunted with effort as he pulled himself and Pikachu in, thumping against the roof of the car. The Volvo swerved extra hard at the impact, nearly jarring Ash loose. It was only with Pidgeot's help that he managed to stay on board. Taking a deep breath, Ash swung himself over the edge of the car, hanging by the luggage rack and nothing else as he slammed against the side of the car. He gambled and prayed as he reached for the door handle. Both paid off; the door heaved open, and Ash slipped in with Pikachu on his shoulder.  
  
"You realize you're breaking the speed limit, right?" Ash quipped, dusting himself off. He looked over at the driver. Then he looked again, blinking hard. "No…" he muttered. "It can't be…"  
  
The driver returned his look with a featureless face. He was dressed entirely in black, and wore a mask of pure obsidian that left him without any appearance. While his real identity remained a mystery thanks to the disguise, Ash knew of only one person who lacked a face. "I should have known you'd show up." the driver remarked with some bitterness.  
  
"Solo. Why am I not surprised?"   
  
It was a bit of a lie; Ash really was surprised. He and Solo had parted company over a year ago, since Solo had deemed his 'training' complete. Actually, the mercenary's exact words had been, 'I've done the best I can. Go out there and prove that you aren't completely hopeless.' And Ash hadn't heard from him since then. So why now? Why Germany? And…  
  
"Why the hell is that blimp trying to kill you?"  
  
Solo jerked the wheel left, steering them around a slower-moving sports car. He grunted, ignoring Pikachu's screaming protest as the maneuver flung the mouse square into the window. "It's a long story, amigo." Solo said sidelong to his former apprentice.  
  
"That a fact?" Ash peeled his Pikachu from the window and rolled it down, taking a moment to recall Pidgeot back into his ball. "Why don't you give me the Reader's Digest version? That shock Pikachu gave their engines won't slow them down forever."  
  
Solo's eyes (did he have eyes?) never left the road as he jerked the wheel about, weaving through traffic like a madman. He could still see the zeppelin in his mirror, and the huge silvery craft was once again gaining on them. "I've made some enemies in my time, kid. Ironically enough, they're some of your enemies, too. It's a lucky thing I found you before they did. That's why I'm here."  
  
"Excuse me?" Ash retorted with a snort. "Who found who here?"  
  
"Pika!"  
  
"Look, that doesn't matter right now. All that matters is…traffic. Shit."  
  
"Traffic shit? Is that some kind of code, or…"  
  
Raising a gloved hand, the mercenary pointed straight ahead. Ash looked forward through the windshield, saw the wall of stopped cars, and suddenly understood. He had just enough time to wrap an arm around Pikachu's waist and brace himself against the dash with his other arm before Solo slammed the breaks on. The car's wheels locked, leaving trails of burning rubber as they began to slide in a slow spin. Teeth gritted and eyes squeezed shut, Ash braced himself for the impact. But the crash never came; the car jerked to a stop about three feet from the line of parked cars, which had all been abandoned.  
  
"Damn it!" Solo swore, pounding his fists against the steering wheel. "What the hell is this?"  
  
"Must be the evacuees." Ash muttered. "I heard it on the radio-"  
  
"Damn it!" Solo swore again. A quick check in the rear-view mirror told him that the zeppelin was closing in fast; in another thirty seconds, they would be as good as dead. Desperately, the mercenary searched the interior of the car, looking for something, anything, that they might use to combat the blimp. The seats were bare, just as he knew the glove compartment and the trunk would be too. "We need to run."  
  
"Why?" Ash was more than a little confused at this point. He rolled down his window and glanced out, scowling at the unmarked, silvery aircraft hanging in the air. "Pikachu and I can pop that balloon without-"  
  
"No good," Solo threw his car door open and rolled out. With no where else to go, Ash exited the car and circled around the hood, keeping one eye on the growing shape in the sky as he watched Solo look about in frustrated near-panic at the wall of cars blocking their escape and the concrete barrier separating them from the now-deserted autobahn traveling in the opposite direction. Turning to face their pursuers, he explained, "They already have back-up on the way. I tapped their radio signals; a hele-carrier escorted by a wing of fighter jets. They'll level this place before-"  
  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Glaring up at the rotund cruiser, Ash fought to keep the snarl of frustration out of his own voice. "Who are we talking about, here? This is insane, I don't even know who we're fighting!"  
  
Now Solo seemed surprised. "You have to ask?"  
  
Before Ash could press the matter, the zeppelin answered for him. A small hatch opened on the underside of the cockpit, retracting the ruined cannon. In its place, a circular basket lowered, supported by a thick column of metal that descended nearly a hundred feet from the hulking mass of gas and metal. Though they were distant, Ash could make out a pair of white uniforms, as well as dots of color, red and blue respectively, above each of the colorless shapes.  
  
"Your time has come, Solo! Prepare for trouble!"  
  
"And make it double!"  
  
The look of steely resolve on Ash's countenance dissolved into one of quiet, disgusted disbelief. "Oh no," he muttered, burying his face in his hands, "You have got to be kidding me."  
  
"To protect the world from devastation!" Jessie hooked the end of a grappling line as their blimp continued to advance, chugging along on damaged engines. The carabineer at the end of her nylon rope napped into place, securing it safely to the passenger basket. She didn't need to look twice to know James had already done the same. As they had practiced before, and done in real life a thousand times, they swung off and into the empty air in perfect unison, supported only by twin ropes as they careened high above the ground.  
  
"To unite all peoples within our nation!" James clicked his heels at the same time Jessie did, activating the hidden smoke grenades planted in their soles. James' feet left an arcing trail of red smoke, perfectly symmetrical with Jessie's blue contrail as they sped towards the ground at a decidedly unsafe speed. Just like in rehearsal, the smoke ran out about ten feet before they reached the pavement.  
  
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!" Jessie released her rope as she swung even with the ground, still in perfect harmony with James.  
  
"To extend our reach to the stars above!" James soared through the air unassisted for a moment, then tucked into a ball and struck ground in a tight shoulder roll. The move served to soften the impact and carry him the rest of the distance to their limited audience at the same time. He and his partner rolled to their feet directly in front of Solo, Ash and Pikachu without a scratch and wide, beaming smiles.  
  
"Jessie!"  
  
"James!"  
  
Gearing up for the grand finale, Jessie activated the sparklers hidden in the tips of her glove, throwing a shower of colorful sparks high into the air. "Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!"  
  
Producing a rose, James ran it under his flawlessly shaped nose as he flipped his long blue hair over his shoulder. "Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"  
  
There was a long pause as the two Team Rocketeers stood motionless in front of their targets, frozen uncomfortably in dramatic poses. As the seconds ticked by, their arms began to leaden and tremble with the effort of maintaining their stances.  
  
"…or PREPARE to FIGHT!" James said again, tossing a glare skyward at the zeppelin, which was now hovering directly over their heads.  
  
A third figure appeared in the craft's undercarriage basket. The tiny, cream-colored midget hopped up onto the guard rail, clutching another nylon line and double-checking it before throwing himself off the edge. "Meowth," the creature yelled, "That's riiiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaaaauauuuuuuuugh!"  
  
Meowth, it seemed, had miscalculated; the poor Pokémon plummeted to the earth in a straight line, landing behind his comrades and their show and plunging into the depths of Solo's Volvo. There was a terrible crunch of metal as the roof collapsed inward under the strain, and then an electronic wail of unfathomable obnoxiousness as its car alarm began blaring out a warning to whatever miscreants were trying to do it harm.  
  
The remaining Rockets dropped their poses. James winced in sympathy as Jessie's pleasant face darkened with her trademark scowl. "Dear lord, Meowth," she barked at the ruined vehicle, "How could you possibly screw up such a beautiful entrance?"  
  
"That was the closest we've come to getting the full motto out in ages!" James simpered, kicking at the pavement as his sapphire head lowered in disappointment. "Who knows when we'll get another chance like that?"  
  
What remained of the Volvo's door popped open, allowing a dizzy and battered, but still alive, Meowth to stagger out and onto the deserted highway. "Meowf," he warbled in his atrocious Brooklyn accent, "Dat's…some'n'…"  
  
As Jessie and James berated their baffled partner's poor performance, Ash appraised his old foes in silence. James was wearing his hair a little longer these days, while Jessie had shortened her swirling mane of fire-engine red hair to shoulder length. Both were wearing different, now-identical unforms; Jessie was no longer cursed with battling in a mini-skirt. The Rockets were clad in pristine jumpsuits of white with black trim across the shoulders and along the seams. Black boots and gloves remained as a testament to the old uniforms, and a smaller, less obvious red R declared their allegiance from their respective right breasts. New packaging, but still the same product, it seemed…  
  
Having collected themselves, Team Rocket now squared off against Solo and his newfound back-up. "Okay, Mr. Mysterious," Jessie snarled. "You and your little buddy are going to-"  
  
"Hey!" Meowth cut Jessie off with a tug at her pant leg, pointing furiously with his other claw and yammering at the top of his lungs. "Dat's da twerp and his Pikachu!"  
  
Not knowing what else to do, Ash raised a hand in greeting. "Hey guys. Been a while. You look good." Pikachu waved his paw, voicing his agreement.  
  
"Oh, well, thanks…" James couldn't help but smile, giving his hair another flip. "I helped design the new uniforms, and-"  
  
A bonk on the head silenced James. Jessie's blue eyes radiated a red aura of fury as she snarled at her useless counterpart. "Will you shut up and focus for a moment? We're here to capture No-Face, not chit-chat with the enemy!"  
  
The aristocratic villain sniffed, folding his arms and turning away with dignified hurt. "That's no reason to be rude," he insisted.  
  
"Will you listen to yourself?"  
  
Meowth joined into the fray, and the three of them stood there, bickering, as their zeppelin floated overhead and their foes stood flatfooted, both forgotten. Solo's head tilted to the side as he observed the trio before he leaned in toward Ash, quipping sidelong, "Are they always like this?"  
  
"Believe it or not," Ash said solemnly, "This is a good day for them." Gear began beeping insistently, calling his attention to his wrist. "Excuse me, I need to take this." He flipped her tiny screen up, revealing even tinier controls, one of which he pressed to accept the incoming signal. "Go."  
  
"_Closin' in on your signal, mate._" came the thick-accented reply. "_'bout thirty seconds, and I'll be right on top o'you._"  
  
Ash stared down the empty stretch of highway they had just come down. There were scores of cars abandoned or wrecked, but Ash couldn't spot a single flicker of movement. "I don't see you." he insisted.  
  
"_Other direction,_" T explained. "_It was easier that way, and-_"  
  
"Never mind," Ash shook his head. He couldn't count on Team Rocket to argue and ignore them all day. "Get ready for a fast pick-up, we've got some major company, and more on the way."  
  
"_I see 'em,_" T assured the trainer. "_Get ready._"  
  
Gear closed with a snap as Ash frowned in concentration. As always, the rusted cogs of his mind were ever whirling, concocting one of his always brilliant plans. "Watch your eyes, Solo," he muttered out of the corner of his mouth. Then, cupping his hands in an improvised microphone, he called out, "Hey! Team Rocket!"  
  
Jessie and James quickly forgot their own qualms and turned to face their longtime nemesis. "What?" they both hollered at the top of their lungs.  
  
Ash smiled; he loved it when a plan came together. Raising an arm to cover his face, he yelled, "Pikachu, Flash!"  
  
"Pi-KA!" Pikachu took a split instant to power up, glowing with an aura of electrical power. The energy soon reversed course and flowed into his skin, coming alive in a radiant burst that rivaled the sun's intensity and blinded the three poor souls who had been unfortunate enough to look in the Pokémon's direction. Team Rocket staggered back and raised their hands a fraction of a second too late to protect themselves. Bright, bedazzling dots of light danced in their vision where Ash and Solo had been a moment ago.  
  
But the growing growl of an incoming engine told Ash that there was no time for self-congratulations. He reached out and grabbed Solo by the arm, dragging him over and across the concrete barrier separating the two halves of the autobahn. Pikachu bounded after them, easily clearing the three-foot divider as Jessie, James and Meowth tripped blindly in their wake, trying to catch up.  
  
"Where's our ride?" Solo demanded angrily, shaking off Ash's grip.  
  
A flash of yellow narrowly missed plowing straight into the two men. Its tires squealed sharply against the pavement as it skidded to a halt a few feet away, twisting about and leaving patches of foul-smelling rubber smoldering in its wake.  
  
The window rolled down, and a pair of pearly white teeth flashed from a chocolate-skinned countenance. "Goin' my way, eh?" he asked with a waggle of his eyebrows.  
  
Solo simply stood there, looking at the thing which would serve as their escape. It was a yellow Volkswagen beetle with a pair of black, beady eyes and round red circles painted on the hood. A pair of paws graced the front fenders, and the trunk featured a long, jagged tail flattened into its paint job. "You actually drive this thing?" he muttered.  
  
"Trenton!" Ash circled the Pika-Beetle and threw the passenger door open, keeping it so barely long enough for himself and Pikachu to dart in before slamming it shut again. Being a beggar, and therefore not a chooser, Solo quickly slid into the back. Before he even got the door closed, their driver pounded his foot against the gas. The Beetle leapt forward with a jerk, tossing its unbelted occupants around like flakes in a snow globe.  
  
Trenton ran a hand through his curly, close-cropped hair, and adjusted the spectacles at the end of his nose. "Close call back there," he quipped with another broad smile. "Who were those prats anyway?"  
  
"Just a couple of old friends," Ash shot back distractedly. He was about to say something else when a persistent beeping began wailing from his pocket. Reaching in, he dug out his Pokédex and flipped the cover open. "What now?"  
  
Dexter's screen flashed wildly for a moment, then shifted over to resemble that of a radar display. A small dot occupied the center, following a thin long line which must have been the highway Trenton was currently careening dangerously down at that very moment. And below the small dot was a much larger mass, creeping up on the center with slow but inexorable progress. "I hate to bother you, but I thought you might like to know about the gigantic mass dropping down on us," the machine said apologetically.  
  
"What?" Ash twisted around, and Solo did the same, scanning the skies through the rear window. "I don't see anything except a big…black…cloud."  
  
A large, lone cloud darkened the otherwise perfect sky, rolling and churning and growing larger as it drew down upon them. At the very crest of the cloud, Ash could see spires of gleaming metal poking out through the clever façade. Then, a bright flash detonated somewhere in the bottom of the cloud, and a ball of fire belched forth, screaming across the sky and coming right toward them.  
  
"Left…" Ash said hoarsely.  
  
Trenton looked over at him. "What's that, boss? Didn't-"  
  
Ash screamed, "Left!" and grabbed the wheel, jerking it to the side. The car squealed in protest as it rose up onto two wheels, swerving to the side and just avoiding the glowing ball of energy. Whatever had been shot at them missed by a narrow margin, kicking up chunks of pavement in an earth-shattering explosion that rocked their vehicle.  
  
"Mary!" Trenton swore, pulling the wheel right to correct their course. "What the bloody hell was that?"  
  
"It's their hele-carrier!" Solo uttered, still looking out the back. He spotted another incoming shot. "Go right!"  
  
The Beetle began dancing across the road to avoid a hail of glowing spheres of death that tore into the road behind them. Gritting his teeth, Trenton scowled at the road ahead of them. "Dex," he called over to Ash's lap, "Are you detectin' any scans from the Badyear Blimp back there?"  
  
"Are you kidding?" Dexter answered in a panic, "I'm reading so much active pinging, they might as well start up their own triangle symphony!"  
  
"Then we have something to work with," he muttered. Looking over, the young boy said in a commanding voice, "Ash, give me Dexter and take the wheel."  
  
Ash stared blankly at his companion as they continued to dodge shots of concentrated death from the heavens above. "You have to be kidding me."  
  
"Are you telling me you don't know how to drive?!" Trenton's voice rose to a terrified squeak of disbelief.  
  
"I've never had to!" Ash shot back as the road next to them exploded in a hail of black shrapnel. "Look, if it was a blimp, I might be able to fake it, but I've never even-"  
  
Trenton flipped a switch on the dash, activating the cruise control as his other hand unclipped his belt. He began sliding over toward Ash's seat, pointing insistently. "Look, it's easy. Steer with the wheel, right is gas, left is brake."   
  
With no time to argue, Ash slid over Trenton's lap, passing Dexter between them as they settled awkwardly into their new arrangements. Trenton had just buckled in and was about to fiddle with Dexter's controls when he was suddenly slammed into his seatbelt. The strap of fabric cut into his chest and forced the air out of his lungs as their car came to a screeching halt. In front of them, another sphere of annihilation destroyed the spot they would have been at in another second.  
  
"Your OTHER right!" Trenton snarled.  
  
"Sorry, sorry," Ash said hurriedly. Pressing down on the correct pedal this time, he sent the Beetle shooting forward and around the new crater as the unseen airship continued its barrage.  
  
Solo kept glancing back and forth between the windshield and the back window, shaking his featureless head the entire time. "This is no good," he said darkly. "We won't last another minute under this kind of fire."  
  
"Then permit me to buy us a little time, mate." Trenton quipped.   
  
His fingers were already dancing across Dexter's control panel, manipulating the small device's powerful hardware and sophisticated software in ways Professor Oak and Westwood Five had never even imagined. Dexter chuckled as his files were rearranged and components brought online against his will. "Hey, that tickles!" he giggled. Then his laughter ceased as Trenton rerouted his micro-fusion power cell. "Hey, you can't do that. I'll overload!"  
  
"Sorry, li'l buddy," Trenton apologized, "No choice. We're toasted otherwise."  
  
"What are you…" Solo began to ask, but then ducked as another volley of shots came raining down on the little car. But a moment later, his ears detected the impacts to be far more distant than they had been. He chanced a look outside and saw the bolts of destruction hailing down upon the empty terrain to either side of the autobahn in a seemingly random pattern. "What did you do?"  
  
Blowing on his knuckles, Trenton said without a trace of modesty, "I configured the Dex's sensor package to emit a scan-jammer, then boosted the power by tenfold. A simple trick for a genius like me, really."  
  
"Ow, ow, ow, OW!" Dexter complained. His components began buzzing against his casing as he heated up to unsafe temperatures. "I can't keep this up much longer!"  
  
"Then there's no more time to screw around." Solo reached forward, grasping Ash's shoulder. The inexperienced driver looked back in a hurry; he was already hyperventilating from just trying to keep them on the road. "Ash, do you have a teleporting Pokémon?"  
  
Flicking his wrist, Ash opened Gear's panel once again. "Gear, contact the Lab and switch Snorlax out for Abra. I pray to Goddess that he's available…"  
  
"One moment. The interference from my companion is making things difficult." Gear processed a moment before adding, "He seems to excel at making things difficult."  
  
"Power down your vocabulator, girly." Dexter shot back before continuing his tirade of wincing and wailing as his components slowly overheated.  
  
"Activating RTS." Professor Oak's Remote Teleport System grasped one of the Pokéballs on Ash's belt, vanishing it in a brief flash of light. It was instantly replaced with an exact look-alike, which Solo didn't hesitate to rip off of the young man's waist. He expanded it and thumbed the activation trigger, releasing the tiny, mystical Psychic type into their already cramped quarters. Pikachu squawked in protest as the snoozing psychic landed on top of him, oblivious to the world in her slumber.  
  
A grim smile crossed Ash's mask of concentration. "I get it. We teleport a few miles away, and no one's the wiser."  
  
Shaking his head, Solo said, "No good. I'm sure they'll have some psionic scanners on board that monstrosity, if not a full-blown psychic. We'll need to go farther."  
  
"Well," Ash snapped impatiently, "Where did you have in mind? Abra can only go so far, she's-"  
  
"Pokémon Island."  
  
The entire vehicle was stunned into silence, even Dexter. Naturally, the machine couldn't shut up for very long, though. "…and I thought I was the comedian," he said.  
  
"You're joking. That's got to be thousands of miles away!" Ash jerked the car to one side as one of the shots grew uncomfortably close. Whether it was by random chance or because Team Rocket had somehow broken through Dexter's interference, he didn't know, nor did he care. Already, he could see more of the fearsome aircraft poking through its broiling cloud cover; the bow of the craft, an angular affair of metal and weaponry, continued its forward descent toward the highway and its hapless prey. "We can't reach that!"  
  
"Think for a moment," Solo insisted. "You're a Disciple, you have the power."  
  
"Doesn't that take a sword and a castle?" Trenton quipped before Ash elbowed him into silence.  
  
"Unite with Abra," Solo urged him, gripping his protég's shoulder tightly. When he saw doubt splayed across Ash's face, he added, "Any second-rate Chosen One could do it if he had to. There's nothing to it."  
  
The jibe seemed to bristle under Ash's skin. "Can't we maybe start out a little smaller?"  
  
"Anything smaller than that, and we risk detection from their psionic facilities." Solo sat back with his arms folded, seemingly at ease, as if the situation had already resolved itself. You can do this."  
  
Rubbing the dashboard with affection, Trenton couldn't help but add, "And if it's at all possible…could you try to save the car?"  
  
"Guys…" Dexter panted (an odd thing for a machine that didn't breathe to do), "Don't mean to interrupt the tea party, but that's all I've got. I'm spent."  
  
And Team Rocket, it seemed, had already capitalized on the cessation of Dexter's feeble resistance. A quartet of annihilation spheres spat from the underside of the half-cloud, half-airship, streaking at incredible speed toward the little Pika-Beetle.  
  
Solo didn't even look back at their impending doom. He sat there with Buddha-like tranquility and said, "This is it. Now or never, Ash."  
  
Ash swallowed a growing lump in his throat. He released the steering wheel, allowing the car to continue more or less in a straight line. Instead, his hands rested on Abra's chest, which rose and fell slowly as she slept.   
  
With practiced ease, Ash felt a part of him slip away and enter his Pokémon. Then he added more, stretching himself so thin it felt as though there was nothing left inside of him. Instead, he felt a great swell of energy entering his mind. Quiet whispers nibbled in ears he never knew he had, whispering the thoughts of those around him in inaudible murmurs. He pushed the stray thoughts aside, focusing on the task at hand. A picture entered his mind, one of a tranquil glen amidst familiar trees and grassy, rolling plains; Viridian Forest. His home.  
  
Ash called up everything he had, putting it into Abra and shouting a single command. "ABRA, TELEPORT!"  
  
The four energy spheres converged on the tiny Volkswagen car, striking the roof. In the first instant, the car's metal frame sagged and crumpled. Then the energy went to work devouring the basic molecular structure of the car. Invisible bonds cracked and released between the fabric of the material on an inscrutable level as the car disintegrated and exploded all at once, ceasing to exist in a magnificent flash of angry white and red flames.  
  
When the light cleared, there was nothing left of the tiny Pikachu-themed vehicle but a smoking crater and a few odd shards of slag.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Dusk had just begun to settle over the shady treetops of Viridian Forest. The daytime wildlife was settling in for a peaceful night of sleep amidst the nooks and crannies of the woods as the nocturnal Pokémon awoke for a night of fun, frolic and foraging.  
  
As the last rays of the sun trickled over the horizon, a new light pierced the veil of darkness blanketing the land. It split the very fabric of reality, opening a brief hole in space and time. The offending rend spat out three humans and two Pokémon from its depths before re-sealing itself with the very same psychic energies that spawned it.  
  
Tumbling to the ground, Ash coughed and heaved, clutching his sides. There was a terrible ache in his side and a pounding in his ears that threatened to squash his brain. It felt as though he had just broken the four-minute mile with a hangover chasing his heels.  
  
"That was some ride," Trenton muttered, rubbing his head as he unfurled his body from Pikachu's squealing form.  
  
Wheezing, Ash looked over to Solo. The man's inky visage had a long crack running its length from their rough landing, but he seemed otherwise fine. He traced the breach in his mask with his finger for a moment before returning Ash's look with a questioning tilt.  
  
"So…" Ash groaned, "That was kid stuff for any Chosen, huh?"  
  
Solo merely shrugged. "Actually," he countered, "No one's ever attempted a teleport of that magnitude before, ever. You just shattered every psychic record in the books, kid."  
  
Three seconds before he passed out, Ash managed to manipulate his hand into a rude gesture and utter, "I hate you so much." Then he willingly relinquished his consciousness, tilting forward and pounding against the soft, warm soil with great relief. 


End file.
